there waiting to be towed out of the way. All right, those hundreds of new state laws are now into effect starting today. And that impacts everything from our children’s classrooms to abortion to medical marijuana. In studio with us this morning, breaking down those new laws. Jay.
Yeah, you guys, right now there are more than 800 new laws now in effect across Texas. And while we can’t cover them all at the moment, we’re going to take a closer look at a few of the major ones, from changes to classroom policies to expanded access to medical marijuana. The first one we’re taking a look at right now is Senate Bill 12, which expands the state’s ban on diversity, equity and inclusion programs in public schools.
It also blocks identity based hiring and bans lessons on gender identity or sexual orientation. And now parents have more say in what their children can and can’t read at school.
Senate Bill 13 lets parents and school boards decide what’s allowed in school libraries, and allows for an advisory council to help review reading materials. And Senate Bill 33 blocks cities and counties from using public funds to support abortion access.
That includes helping people travel out of state or partnering with abortion related organizations. The goal there is to restrict local involvement in those abortion services, and House Bill 46 expands medical marijuana to include more conditions like chronic pain and brain injuries, and this comes as lawmakers debate a possible hemp derived THC ban. Our case has been heard now by the legislature.
They understand that the people we are helping are some of, you know, the most, you know, necessary medical patients in Texas. And like we mentioned, we just covered a few of the The effect today September 1st, to help protect property owners from the growing crime of title theft.
Consumer reporter Heather Sullivan has been investigating this issue, and joins us with a look at what these bills will do. I hope it makes a difference. Heather.
Yeah, we all do. Title theft or deed theft is a growing crime that has been far too easy to commit. Fraudsters file forged documents to transfer homes and property into someone else’s name. That property is then often sold. Sometimes it’s fraudulently listed for rent or used to take out other loans.
Well, investigators say it happens most often to the elderly or owners of vacant homes, but it can and does happen to anyone, anywhere. I introduce you to Brandon Williams, who says that she discovered land she had owned for years, had been transferred into someone else’s name without her knowledge, and she’s still battling to get it back. Years later. When I was heartbroken, I was just heartbroken. You could hear it in my voice.
I every part of me had. I felt like I died almost. The Texas legislature passed some new bills to crack down on this crime. The laws are intended to make it easier for law enforcement to investigate and prosecute, and for some victims to get restitution.
Texas Senate Bill 1734 makes it easier for an owner to challenge fraudulent documents by filing a petition for judicial review or an affidavit contesting the documents.
Legitimacy. Senate Bill 693 adds penalties for notaries who prepare fraudulent documents, and Senate Bill 647 lets county clerks investigate and reject suspicious filings. These come after a law was already passed in the previous session that enables all county clerks to require a photo ID when property documents are filed. Now, some counties also let property owners sign up for alerts when new paperwork is filed on their property. Harris County does not offer these alerts, but you can monitor your property online to see if any documents have been file
