Texas Law 2022: New Laws Affecting Veterans, Renters, Animal Neglect, Tax Exemptions, etc. go into effect in January

Texas Legislature 87 passed 23 measures in its regular session, which ends in May.

Here are some bills that become law in the new year.

Senate Bill 23

It requires certain counties to hold elections before reducing funding for the county’s main law enforcement agency or reallocating funds to different law enforcement agencies.

This measure only applies to counties with a population of more than 1 million.

The bill’s authors say the measure meets requests to “take down the police” after police killings across the country. Critics say it hinders local control over county budget processes.

House bill 531

This requires landlords to notify potential rental property owners if the property is in a 100-year flood zone or if the home has flooded in the past five years prior to signing the lease. .

This law came into being after Hurricane Harvey.

If a landlord fails to notify potential residents, tenants can terminate their lease if they are flooded.

READ MORE: New Texas law warns tenants of vulnerable properties

Senate Bill 911

It makes a restaurant with several licenses or alcoholic beverage licenses eligible for food and beverage certification.

Advocates say the measure helps restaurants recover from the pandemic by creating clear requirements for food delivery.

Senate Bill 794

This is an important one for veteran homeowners. Veterans who are classified as 100% disabled by the Department of Veterans Affairs will be exempt from the home tax.

Senate Bill 792

This law deals with the license plates and parking plates of disabled veterans.

The law would require anyone parking in a disabled parking lot to have a license plate or no-parking sign with the International Access Rights (ISA) symbol.

It’s a change from the old disabled license plate now, which doesn’t have an ISA and all Texans with it are allowed to use the disabled parking lot.

Disabled veterans who want to use those parking spaces will now have to register a new disabled parking sign or disabled license plate with the ISA if the veteran meets the eligibility requirements. eligible for ISA after January 1, 2022.

Your existing card will be valid, but you will have to meet the new requirements at the time of renewal.

You can view the eligibility requirements on this Texas DMV page.

House bill 1197

This involves tax exemptions for churches and other religious organizations.

They will now be exempt from tax for 10 years instead of six years on land dedicated to expanding a place of worship or building a new place of worship.

House bill 2535

Under this law, taxpayers would be prohibited from including a personal chicken coop or rabbit house in the value of a home.

Senate Bill 5

The event won’t start until around mid-January, but it’s definitely worth it to Texas dog owners as it’s meant to prevent animal neglect.

Effective January 18, the Safe Outdoor Dogs Act will make it illegal to leash pets outside or use a weighted seat belt.

The bill would also require dogs to have adequate shelter to protect them from inclement weather and to allow them to stand, sit, turn and lie in a normal position.

Only humane tethering devices such as trolley systems or “zip lines” are allowed.

According to the bill, the offense is a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $500.

You can see a longer list of what’s to come starting January 1 from the Texas Legislative Reference Library.