30 new state laws take effect Jan. 1
Thirty new state laws take effect on Jan. 1, 2024, in Texas, including a popular property tax relief bill and a controversial law that does away with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, or DEI offices, at publicly funded colleges and universities.
Here’s a quick look at some of the new laws we will all have to follow come midnight, Sunday, Dec. 31.
TAX RELIEF
The Texas Legislature approved Senate Bill 3, an omnibus property tax relief package in its second of four special sessions in 2023. The bill grants total exemption from the state’s franchise tax for nearly 70,000 businesses.
DEI PROGRAMS
Publicly funded colleges and universities can no longer staff or fund Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion offices per Senate Bill 17, which was passed during the regular legislative session. Those already in existence will have to be disbanded and employees reassigned, including the chief diversity officer, the person in charge of developing strategies for diverse hiring and training programs.
Schools may no longer offer DEI training and school administrators will have to testify before legislative committees that they are complying with the law.
E-CIGARETTES
As of Jan. 1, marketing and advertising e-cigarettes to minors will be a Class B misdemeanor. House Bill 4758 bans ads or packaging that appeal to minors, such as those using cartoon characters, celebrities, or images of candy or juice.
HOAs
Homeowner associations will be required to send property owners a copy of their policies, which must also be posted online. The policies must clearly outline HOA violations and fines.
AT-RISK CHILDREN
House Bill 3186 creates a diversion program for children accused of minor offenses. Under the Texas Youth Diversion and Early Intervention Act, authorities may wave penalties for Class C misdemeanors and instead enter young offenders into programs that offer drug and alcohol rehabilitation and awareness programs, job training, and self-improvement.
APPRAISAL DISTRICT DATABASE
House Bill 796 requires appraisal districts to provide a publicly available and searchable internet database of information regarding protest hearings. The database must contain the appraised value according to the appraisal district, the property owner’s asserted value, and the outcome of the hearing. The database will have to be updated by Oct. 1 of each year.
Beginning on Jan. 1, 2030, the database must contain information for protests relating to the previous five years.
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What about the Personal property tax relief for homeowners
The summary of the legislation in this report regarding HOAs might be a bit misleading. H.B. 614 applies only to those HOAs/POAs which are “authorized by [its] declaratory instrument to levy fines” and the policies referred to are those specifically related to violations that can result in fines, and the policies and amounts applying to those fines. Not every HOA/POA is authorized to levy fines for violations of its policies. This new legislation is not as sweeping as it might seem, but it does impose specific responsibilities on associations that can fine its members for violations.