Other laws from the special session took effect in September, including measures aimed at strengthening flood-prone communities and youth summer camps against future disasters following the deadly July 4 weekend flooding in Central and West Texas.
Keep reading for details about some of the bills becoming law Dec. 4. The following lists are not comprehensive.
What you need to know
Under House Bill 8, the Texas Education Agency will begin transitioning to a new standardized testing system over the next year and a half. The law, which takes effect Dec. 4, will replace the high-stakes State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR, with three shorter exams beginning in fall 2027.
Third- through 12th-grade students will continue taking the STAAR through the 2026-27 school year, although the bill directed the TEA to begin piloting new exam questions in schools throughout the state as soon as this school year, Community Impact previously reported.
Bill author Rep. Brad Buckley, R-Salado, said in September that HB 8 will reduce test-related anxiety; give students and teachers feedback throughout the school year; and increase legislative oversight of Texas’ assessment and accountability systems. Critics of the plan, including most House Democrats and a few Republicans, said they were concerned it would increase the amount of time students spend taking exams and essentially create “another STAAR test” developed by the state.
The TEA is required to release a plan for implementation of the new exams by February 2027, shortly after Texas’ next regular legislative session begins. Lawmakers said this would allow them to make final adjustments to the testing system before it takes effect at the beginning of the 2027-28 school year.
More details
Near the end of the special session, lawmakers approved HB 18, which is designed to deter future legislators from leaving the Texas Capitol to prevent a legislative chamber from gaveling in or considering legislation. Dozens of Texas House Democrats used the political strategy, known as breaking quorum, to stall the passage of a Republican-sponsored congressional redistricting plan this summer.
After HB 18 becomes law Dec. 4, lawmakers who break quorum will be barred from fundraising or accepting political donations while participating in a quorum break. Quorum-breakers and their donors would face up to $5,000 in fines for each donation, according to the bill.
Also becoming law Dec. 4 is Senate Bill 54, which will roll back a short-lived rule that allowed registered Texas voters who moved within a county to update their address at the polls and immediately vote in their new precinct. That rule was approved earlier this year, during Texas’ regular legislative session, and took effect Sept. 1; however, lawmakers reversed it after Gov. Greg Abbott expressed concerns about “same-day voter registration.”
Under SB 54, registered voters will again be required to wait 30 days for changes to their voter registration to take effect.
Unlike dozens of other states, Texas does not allow new voters to register at the polls during early voting or on Election Day.
Also of note
Other state laws taking effect Dec. 4 include:
- HB 7, which will make it a crime to prescribe or provide abortion-inducing medication in Texas
- HB 20, which will create new guardrails to prevent fraudulent organizations from soliciting and receiving donations in the wake of disasters
- SB 8, which will require local governments and state agencies to limit access to bathrooms, locker rooms, jails, prisons and certain family violence shelters based on a person’s sex assigned at birth, rather than the gender they identify with
- SB 11, which would shield human trafficking victims from being prosecuted for crimes they were forced or coerced to commit
- SB 12, which will allow the state attorney general to independently prosecute election-related crimes
- SB 16, which will increase criminal penalties for people convicted of using fraudulent deeds to transfer or sell someone else’s property
HB 4, which redraws Texas’ congressional districts in an effort to net five more congressional seats for the Republican party, is also scheduled to take effect Dec. 4. The legislation was passed during a special session this summer and swiftly headed to the courts after several advocacy groups filed a lawsuit arguing that state lawmakers “engaged in unconstitutional racial gerrymandering” when drafting the redistricting plan.
An El Paso federal court sided with the advocacy groups Nov. 18, ruling that Texas could not use its new congressional map in the 2026 elections. Days later, the U.S. Supreme Court temporarily restored the map while justices consider the details of the case. A final Supreme Court decision had not been released as of press time.
Prospective candidates have until 6 p.m. Dec. 8 to file for all races on the March primary ballot, including congressional seats, according to the secretary of state’s office.
