From the Texas Tribune: Property tax revision, judicial branch expansion among new Texas laws that took effect Jan. 1

Most bills passed by the legislature take effect 90 days after the end of the regular session. Some take effect at different times if the language of the bill says so.

Here are three that were passed in 2021 that are just now taking effect.

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. . . Senate Bill 12, written by Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, limits the amount of property taxes a school district can levy on the homestead of an elderly or disabled person, according to a bill analysis by the Senate Research Center.

To ensure that districts are not burdened by a decrease in revenue, the law makes districts eligible for additional state aid.

. . . House Bill 3774, authored by Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, includes several reforms to the judicial branch. It creates 10 district courts, five statutory county courts, one statutory probate court and one criminal magistrate court. It revises the jurisdiction of certain statutory county courts, gives magistrates in certain counties jurisdiction in criminal cases, revises the duties of certain district and county attorneys and provides public access to the state court document database — if the state Supreme Court agrees.

Additionally, the law creates a code of professional responsibility to regulate entities overseen by the Texas Forensic Science Commission, revises the commission’s investigatory power and permits the commission to use state funds to train forensic analysts.

. . . Senate Bill 1210, written by Sen. Nathan Johnson, D-Dallas, and Bettencourt, requires that building codes allow the use of refrigerants, a component of air conditioning units, other than hydrofluorocarbons, so long as they comply with the federal Clean Air Act. This law is in line with a movement in the United States and around the world to phase out the use of hydrofluorocarbons, chemical compounds of hydrogen, carbon and fluorine that erode the ozone layer and contribute to global warming.

A Senate Research Center analysis of the law noted that a leading industry group, the Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute, supported the legislation. Major Texas manufacturers including Goodman and Chemours also supported it, the analysis found. The analysis said the transition away from hydrofluorocarbons includes ramping up the manufacturing of air conditioners that use other types of coolants, many of which can be manufactured in Texas.