New Texas Laws 2026: What Took Effect and What Comes Next

Last verified October 27, 2026 against current Texas law

If you are looking for the new Texas laws that apply to you in 2026, the list is long, because lawmakers sent the governor more than 1,100 bills in the 2025 regular session alone. Most of them reached you in three waves, and a few more come from voters and agencies rather than from a new statute. This page sorts the changes by when they started, names the bill behind each one, and links to our full guides where a topic needs more room.

Regular session	89th Legislature, 2025. Most laws without a set date took effect September 1, 2025
Special sessions	Two in summer 2025. Several of their laws took effect December 4, 2025
January 1, 2026 laws	Include SB 8 (sheriffs and ICE), SB 38 (evictions), HB 149 (artificial intelligence) and HB 9 (business equipment tax)
Voter-approved changes	All 17 constitutional amendments passed on November 4, 2025
2026 regular session	None. Texas meets in regular session in odd-numbered years
Next session	Starts January 12, 2027. Bill prefiling opens November 9, 2026

What are the new laws in Texas in 2026?

They are the laws passed by the 89th Legislature in 2025, plus voter-approved constitutional amendments. Texas lawmakers meet in regular session only in odd-numbered years, so no new bills were passed in the spring of 2026. Anything described as a new law this year started earlier or comes from an agency rule.

Under the Texas Constitution, a bill without its own start date takes effect on the 91st day after the session ends. For the 2025 regular session, that day was September 1, 2025. You can search any bill by number on Texas Legislature Online, which also lists the effective date for each one.

Timeline: when each wave of new Texas laws started

Date	What took effect
January 1, 2025	HB 3297 ended the annual safety inspection for most passenger vehicles
September 1, 2025	Most 2025 regular session laws, including SB 2 (school vouchers), SB 10 (Ten Commandments in classrooms), SB 1333 (squatters), SB 857 (towing unlicensed drivers) and HB 46 (medical cannabis)
December 4, 2025	Special session laws, including HB 7 (abortion pills), SB 8 (restroom rules), HB 8 (STAAR replacement) and HB 18 (quorum penalties)
January 1, 2026	SB 8 (regular session, sheriffs and ICE), SB 38, HB 149 and HB 9
December 1, 2026	Deadline for covered sheriffs to comply with the ICE agreement law
January 12, 2027	The 90th Legislature convenes

Bill numbers repeat across sessions. The regular-session SB 8 on sheriffs and the second special session SB 8 on restrooms are two different laws, so always check which session a number belongs to.

Which laws took effect on January 1, 2026?

Four of the most talked-about laws started on New Year’s Day. Each one touches a different part of daily life.

Immigration: sheriffs and 287(g) agreements

SB 8 requires sheriffs who run county jails to seek 287(g) agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Those agreements let trained local officers carry out some federal immigration tasks. The law took effect January 1, 2026, and covered sheriff’s offices have until December 1, 2026 to comply. The Texas attorney general can sue an office that refuses.

Evictions: SB 38

SB 38 speeds up the eviction process, with a focus on squatters and cases where no real dispute exists over who has the right to the property. It reworks service of papers, summary disposition, appeals and writs of possession. It works alongside SB 1333, which since September 1, 2025 lets sheriffs and constables act on sworn squatter complaints. Our guide to Texas eviction laws walks through the notice and court steps.

Artificial intelligence: HB 149

HB 149 sets state rules for artificial intelligence. It limits misuse of biometric data, requires government agencies to tell you when you are dealing with AI, and bars AI built to encourage self-harm or crime. It also created the Texas Artificial Intelligence Council and a regulatory sandbox for testing new systems.

Property tax: HB 9 and the business equipment exemption

HB 9 exempts up to $125,000 of the value of business equipment and other income-producing personal property from local property tax. It depended on voters approving Proposition 9 in November 2025, which they did. Before this, only items valued under $2,500 were exempt.

What are the new Texas driving laws and driver’s license rules?

The biggest change for unlicensed drivers is that officers can now tow the car. Under Transportation Code § 545.305, as amended by SB 857 effective September 1, 2025, a peace officer can remove a vehicle when the driver has no license, has an invalid license, lacks required liability insurance, or is a minor driving without a license. That is why the search for a driving without a license Texas new law leads here.

The law lets officers tow rather than requiring it, so what happens at a stop depends on the officer and the driver’s record. If you lend your car to someone, confirm they hold a valid license first, since the vehicle itself can be taken. Other driver changes include:

• Inspections: Since January 1, 2025, most passenger vehicles no longer need an annual safety inspection under HB 3297. Drivers pay a $7.50 inspection program replacement fee at registration, and emissions tests continue in certain urban counties.
• School crossing zones: SB 826 makes DWI in a school crossing zone a state jail felony while the reduced school-zone speed limit is in effect.
• Move over rule: SB 305, effective September 1, 2025, extends the move over or slow down rule to animal control and parking enforcement vehicles that use visual signals.

For everyday rules such as seat belts, red light cameras and sleeping in your car, see our guide to Texas traffic laws drivers get wrong, or browse the driving and vehicles hub.

Which new Texas laws affect schools?

Several, and most started in the 2025-2026 school year. Schools saw the largest share of the 2025 changes.

• Cellphones: HB 1481 requires every district and charter school to adopt a policy banning student use of personal communication devices during the school day. Exceptions cover individualized education programs, physician directives and safety protocols. See our Texas phone ban guide for the school and driving rules.
• Ten Commandments: SB 10 requires displays in public classrooms. A federal court blocked it for some districts in August 2025, but the full Fifth Circuit ruled for the state in April 2026 and reversed that block. Further appeals are possible.
• School vouchers: SB 2 created an education savings account program funded with up to $1 billion in the current state budget period, starting with the 2026-2027 school year.
• Parent and library rules: SB 12 sets parental rights rules for K-12 schools, and SB 13 gives parents more say over school library materials.
• Testing: HB 8, effective December 4, 2025, replaces the STAAR test with three shorter assessments, to be in place statewide in the 2027-2028 school year.

Our guide to religion laws in Texas covers the Ten Commandments law and the court fight in more detail.

What did Texas voters approve in November 2025?

Voters approved all 17 proposed constitutional amendments on November 4, 2025. These are changes to the state constitution itself, so the Legislature cannot undo them without another vote. The ones most likely to affect you are listed here.

Proposition	What it does
Prop 2	Bans a state capital gains tax
Prop 3	Requires judges to deny bail to people accused of certain violent or sexual felonies when the state shows detention is necessary
Prop 8	Bans a state death or inheritance tax
Prop 9	Raises the business equipment and personal property exemption to $125,000
Prop 11	Raises the extra school tax homestead exemption for homeowners 65 or older or disabled from $10,000 to $60,000
Prop 13	Raises the school tax homestead exemption from $100,000 to $140,000
Prop 14	Sets aside $3 billion to create a dementia research institute
Prop 15	Adds parental rights language to the constitution
Prop 16	Requires U.S. citizenship to vote in Texas

Homestead exemptions lower your school district tax bill, but you may need to confirm the new amounts with your county appraisal district.

New Texas laws on health, cannabis and abortion

Medical cannabis grew, but recreational use did not change. HB 46 widened the Texas Compassionate Use Program to more conditions, including chronic pain, traumatic brain injury and Crohn’s disease, and allows vapor and aerosol forms when a physician finds them medically necessary. Governor Abbott vetoed a bill that would have banned most consumable hemp products, and a hemp bill stalled in the special session.

The bigger hemp changes came from state agency rules, not from a new statute. Read the full status in our Texas THC ban guide.

On abortion, HB 7 took effect December 4, 2025. It lets private citizens sue makers and distributors of abortion-inducing drugs, with exceptions for emergencies, miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies, and it protects the person who took the drugs from being sued. See Is abortion legal in Texas for the full rules and penalties.

What other laws did Texas just pass in the special sessions?

The two summer 2025 special sessions produced several laws, and most started on December 4, 2025. Besides HB 7, HB 8 and HB 18, they include:

• Restroom law (SB 8): Requires government buildings, schools, colleges and similar facilities to designate restrooms and changing areas by biological sex. It applies to government entities, which face civil penalties starting at $25,000 collected by the attorney general.
• Trafficking victims (SB 11): Creates a defense to prosecution for certain trafficking victims who were forced to commit crimes.
• Camp safety (SB 1): Bars licensing of youth camps with cabins in a floodplain, after the deadly Hill Country floods. It took effect right away in September 2025, not December.

Real situations: how a new Texas law might reach you

You are pulled over with an expired license

Before September 2025, you would usually get a ticket and a ride or a call to a friend. Now the officer has the option to tow the car, and you may owe towing and storage fees on top of the citation.

You are a small shop owner in Fort Worth

If your business equipment and other personal property are worth $125,000 or less, the HB 9 exemption can take your local business personal property tax to zero. Check your appraisal district notice each spring to confirm it was applied.

Your child’s phone is confiscated at school

Districts set their own discipline under HB 1481, and a confiscated device may be disposed of only after the parent receives 90 days of written notice. A documented medical or individualized education program need can allow use during the day.

Myths vs. facts about new Texas laws

Myth	Fact
“Texas passed a bunch of laws this year.”	No regular session was held in 2026. Today’s laws were passed in 2025.
“All Texas laws start September 1.”	Many do, but others start on January 1, December 4, or on a date set in the bill.
“Texas banned all THC.”	The hemp ban bill was vetoed and the special session bill stalled. See our THC guide for what is restricted.
“Voters can pass any law on the ballot.”	Texas voters only vote on constitutional amendments the Legislature sends them. There is no statewide citizen initiative.

What new Texas laws could come in 2027?

Nothing is final until the 90th Legislature meets, but the calendar is set. Lawmakers may begin filing bills on November 9, 2026, and the session convenes at noon on January 12, 2027. A bill that passes without a set date generally takes effect on the 91st day after the session ends.

Topics that stalled in 2025, such as hemp regulation and property tax changes, are likely to return. We update our Texas legal news hub as bills move.

Frequently asked questions

What are the new laws in Texas?

They are the bills passed by the 89th Legislature in 2025 and the 17 constitutional amendments voters approved that November. Most started on September 1, 2025, with others on December 4, 2025 and January 1, 2026. Examples include school phone limits, towing of unlicensed drivers, faster evictions and the artificial intelligence law.

What is the new law in Texas?

There is no single new law. Hundreds were added in 2025. The ones most people ask about are SB 10 on Ten Commandments displays, SB 8 on sheriffs and ICE agreements, SB 38 on evictions, HB 1481 on school phones and HB 7 on abortion drugs.

What new laws were passed in Texas in 2026?

None in a regular session. The Legislature meets in odd-numbered years, and its next regular session starts January 12, 2027. Some 2025 laws only began applying in 2026, such as those effective January 1, and the sheriff compliance deadline falls on December 1, 2026.

What law did Texas just pass?

The most recent laws were the special session bills that took effect December 4, 2025, including the restroom law, the abortion drug lawsuit law, the STAAR replacement and quorum penalties. No new statute has passed since, because lawmakers have not met in regular session in 2026 and no special session has been called as of this date.

Can Texas police tow my car for driving without a license?

Yes, they may. Since September 1, 2025, Transportation Code § 545.305 allows an officer to remove a vehicle when the driver has no valid license, no required insurance, or is an unlicensed minor. The decision is up to the officer, and you can owe towing and storage fees.

Do Texas laws always take effect on September 1?

No. September 1 is the default after a regular session, but a bill can set its own date, such as January 1, or take effect immediately if two-thirds of each chamber agree. Special session laws and voter-approved amendments follow their own dates.

Where can I look up a Texas bill and its effective date?

Use Texas Legislature Online at capitol.texas.gov. Search by bill number and session, such as 89R for the 2025 regular session, then read the bill history and enrolled text. Statutes themselves are published by the Texas Legislative Council.

If this affects you: for a ticket, tow or eviction notice, speak with a Texas-licensed attorney who handles that kind of case, and keep every notice and date. For property tax questions, contact your county appraisal district. This guide is general legal information, not advice for your situation. Read how we research every guide in our editorial policy, or report an error.