Hundreds of Rules Go Into Effect Today - Texas

Hundreds of rules go into effect today
By JOHN MORITZ
Star-Telegram staff writer

AUSTIN -- If you drive, own a dog, have a gun, enjoy a beer, raise kids, say prayers or visit the doctor, listen up:

New rules go on the books today for you and just about every other Texan. Some will cost you money; others are designed to keep more cash in your pocket. Some are designed to give you more freedom, and others will demand more responsibility for those who wish to remain law-abiding Texans.

In all, about 650 statutes, passed by the Legislature in the session that ended in late May, are going into effect. Political analyst Harvey Kronberg, a close observer of the legislative process since the early 1980s, said the newest batch of laws is less the result of a mandate from last year's elections than it is the foreshadowing of upcoming political campaigns.

"In the House, most of the action was overshadowed by speaker politics," said Kronberg, publisher of the online Quorum Report, referring to the ill-fated challenge to House Speaker Tom Craddick, which is expected to carry over to the 2008 elections. "In the Senate, the thinking was that [Lt. Gov. David] Dewhurst was laying the groundwork for a run for governor in 2010."

Dewhurst, a Republican who sets the agenda for the 31-member Senate, championed successful legislation to boost penalties for repeat sex offenders that he called Jessica's Law, in honor of a 9-year-old Florida girl who was raped and slain by a habitual predator. The measure, House Bill 8, calls for a minimum 25-year prison sentence for anyone who commits a sexually violent crime against a child younger than 14.

A second conviction carries a death sentence.

Here is a look at some other notable laws that take effect today:

Medical bills

This new law is aimed at helping patients find out whether their medical bills are being padded. Under Senate Bill 1832, patients who undergo certain lab tests will get more information about the price of the service and about where the work was done. The law requires doctors to identify outside labs that perform certain pathology services, such as biopsies and Pap smears, and to disclose the actual amount paid for the tests.

The Texas Society of Pathologists, which supports the law, said it's intended to combat the practice of doctors "marking up" lab bills by hiding added charges.

Patients who have a complaint about a doctor's failure to report the mandatory billing information can call the Texas Medical Board's hot line at 800-201-9353 or go to www.tmb.state.tx.us.

Protecting kids

Senate Bill 6 boosts the penalty for sending sexually explicit material over the Internet to children ages 14 to 16 to a third-degree felony. Using the Internet to solicit someone ages 14 to 16 will become a second-degree felony.

Senate Bill 9 requires national criminal history checks for public school employees.

Laws for dogs

House Bill 1355 requires dog owners to secure their pets on their property even if their dogs have never been declared dangerous. Dog owners can be held criminally responsible if the dog causes serious bodily injury or death away from the owner's property in an unprovoked attack and if the owner failed to secure the dog.

House Bill 916 makes operating a dogfight a state jail felony and subjects spectators to prosecution for a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in county jail.

New rules for the road

House Bill 586 disqualifies drivers found guilty of speeding faster than 95 mph from taking a driver safety class to have the ticket dismissed.

Senate Bill 153 makes it illegal for a licensed driver supervising someone with a learner's permit to be intoxicated or to fall asleep.

Senate Bill 502 increases the minimum automobile liability coverage for policies initiated or renewed after April 1 to $25,000 for injury or death in an accident, $50,000 for injury or death to two or more people, and $25,000 for property damage.

House Bill 8 requires drivers 85 and older to pass a vision test for license renewal.

Senate Bill 1315 requires the Department of Public Safety's alert system to notify the public when an elderly person goes missing.

Guns and safety

Senate Bill 378 removes the requirement that a property owner retreat first before resorting to deadly force against an intruder.

House Bill 991 makes DPS records on who holds concealed-handgun permits exempt from state open-records laws.

Senate Bill 11 allows wiretap orders to be issued for suspects in offenses such as kidnapping and unlawful restraint, human trafficking and money laundering.


VIA: Star-Telegram.com | 09/01/2007 | Hundreds of rules go into effect today