A total of 31 bills passed by the 88th Texas Legislature will go into effect on January 1, 2024.

Most new laws come from the regular legislative session that ended on May 29, 2023. Governor Greg Abbott also called four special sessions to consider additional legislation, some of which will become law on January 1. We may see more bills passed if the lawmakers gather again before the 89th Legislature convenes in 2025.

Over 700 bills passed by the current legislature already went into effect on September 1, 2023. A handful of bills are scheduled to become law at a later date.

Where can I read the new laws?

Texas laws are freely accessible online. You can view new bills by the date they become law on the Bill Effective Dates page on the Legislative Reference Library of Texas (LRL) website:

• 88th Legislature (2023) - Effective January 1, 2024

If you want to see how new legislation changes an existing Texas statute, LRL's Index to Sections Affected can be very helpful. Researchers can use it to find new bills that amend, add, or repeal specific sections of the law.  

If you’re researching a bill in more depth, you may want to explore the various Search Tools on the Texas Legislature Online (TLO) website.

What are the new laws?

The new legislation covers a number of topics, including: 

• changes to property taxes
• elimination of diversity-based programs in public universities
• new requirements for property owners' associations' (HOA) regarding fines

Several news organizations have published summary articles to help you learn more about the new laws:

• The new year rings in new Texas laws. Here's a look at some rules going into effect Jan. 1 by the Austin-American Statesman
• Here are some of the new Texas laws going into effect Jan. 1, 2024 by KHOU
• New year, new laws: Here are bills in the Texas Legislature effective Jan. 1, 2024 by ABC13

General legislative summaries for the 88th session may be found on our Legislative Recaps page.

 Additional Information

If you need assistance with legislative research, our reference librarians are here to help. You can find us via e-mail or by telephone through the Ask a Librarian page.