{"id":422897,"date":"2026-09-01T14:02:09","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T14:02:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/422897\/"},"modified":"2026-09-01T14:02:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T14:02:09","slug":"new-texas-laws-taking-effect-today-what-houstonians-need-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/422897\/","title":{"rendered":"New Texas laws taking effect today: What Houstonians need to know"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">HOUSTON \u2013 Several new Texas laws took effect today, bringing changes that could impact consumers, schools and businesses across the state.<\/p>\n<p>Right-to-repair<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">If your phone or tablet breaks, you now have more options for getting it fixed. House Bill 2963 requires manufacturers to give consumers and independent repair shops access to certain parts, tools and repair information \u2014 meaning you\u2019re no longer limited to only authorized repair services.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">However, the law doesn\u2019t apply to everything. Cars, home appliances and gaming consoles are not covered under the new measure.<\/p>\n<p>Solar purchase protections<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Texans shopping for solar now have more protection before they sign on the dotted line. Under the new law, solar companies and salespeople are required to register with the state, carry insurance, use licensed contractors and follow consumer and lending laws \u2014 with penalties for those who don\u2019t comply.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">If you have second thoughts after signing, you now have five days to cancel a solar purchase or lease without penalty.<\/p>\n<p>Special education funding<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Schools will also see changes in how special education is funded. Under the new law, money follows the level of support a student needs \u2014 not just the number of students who qualify. Districts are also required to show more clearly how services are being delivered through tighter reporting requirements.<\/p>\n<p>Gold, silver as legal tender<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 jJNfBD fSvavs article-text\">Another new measure recognizes gold and silver as legal tender in Texas under specific rules.<\/p>\n<p>Breaking News Alerts<\/p>\n<p class=\"Box-_wrDxHtU__Box-sc-10sa3ie-0 Text-nO2aZ44r__TextBase-sc-s2hv5x-0 bTVksG\">More Stories Like This In Our Email Newsletter<\/p>\n<p>Copyright 2026 by KPRC Click2Houston &#8211; All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HOUSTON \u2013 Several new Texas laws took effect today, bringing changes that could impact consumers, schools and businesses&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":422898,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[90912,147144,147143,57,27,29,28],"class_list":["post-422897","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-consumer-protection-texas","tag-education-funding-level-of-support","tag-gold-and-silver-legal-tender-texas","tag-houston-news","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/422897","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=422897"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/422897\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/422898"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=422897"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=422897"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=422897"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}