• September 6, 2011

82ND TEXAS LEGISLATURE: NEW LAWS TAKE EFFECT

82ND TEXAS LEGISLATURE: NEW LAWS TAKE EFFECT

150 150 Elect Todd Hunter

September 1, 2011, marked the date that many of the new laws that passed during the 82nd Regular Legislative Session went into effect. These new laws range from bills addressing pollution prevention in our state waters to those seeking to prevent criminal activity. Each of the bills that took effect on September 1 went through a 140 day legislative session. During that 140 day period, these bills went before House and Senate Committees before going before the Texas House and Senate as a whole.

The laws mentioned below represent some of those pieces of legislation that passed and went into effect on September 1:
• House Bill (HB) 1353 amends the Transportation Code to establish the same daytime and nighttime speed limits on state highways or United State highways outside an urban district. It is interesting to note that according to the National Conference of State Legislators, prior to the passage of HB 1353, Texas was the only state to have separate daytime and nighttime speed limits. In addition to placing the same speed limits for daytime and nighttime, HB 1353 also provides the commission with the ability to raise speed limits to 75 miles per hour on state highways and United States highways outside urban districts. With this law, we may see the ability to drive up to 75 miles per hour on our highways in the future.
• Senate Bill (SB) 132 – In accordance with the Military Select Service Act, any male who is at least 18 years of age but less than 26 years of age must register with the United States Select Service System. Texas has ranked very low for registration completion by 19-year-old males. As a result, SB 132 makes it mandatory for all males at least 18 years of age but less than 26 to register with the Select Services in order to receive an original, renewal or duplicate driver’s license or photo identification card.
• SB 18 – In 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court authorized the use of eminent domain for economic development purposes in their decision of Kelo v. New London. Since this Supreme Court decision, Texas has passed several pieces of legislation, such as SB 18, in order to prevent the misuse of eminent domain. With the passage of SB 18, “public use” is more narrowly defined to ensure the use of eminent domain for true public use. In addition, it requires a written “good faith” offer to the private land owner, a “buy back” option for land not used within ten years of it being acquired, and a Condemnation Petition which clearly states the public use be provided to the property owner.

Each of these laws went into effect on September 1, 2011. It is important to learn and know about the new laws that were passed by the 82nd Texas Legislature. If you would like to view any of the other legislation that was passed during the 82nd Regular Session and the first called special session on your own, these websites are great resources:

The Texas Legislature .
The Texas House of Representatives .
The Texas Senate .

If you have questions regarding any of the information mentioned in this article, please do not hesitate to call my Capitol or District Office. As always, my offices are available at any time to assist with questions, concerns or comments (Capitol Office, 512-463-0672; District Office, 361-949-4603).