New Texas Laws
On Thursday, 1,500 new laws take effect in Texas. I've listed some of the more interesting and pertinent laws (note-the Texas Legislature meets for 10 weeks every other year)Bad bars: Permits to sell alcohol will not be issued to or renewed for bar owners whose permits have been pulled or canceled because of violent acts on their premises. Several lawmakers, including Davis and Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth, worked on this measure, known as Erik's Law, which takes effect Sept. 1. (HB2707)
The Texas legislature has adopted a law which provides that a plaintiff is responsible for the defendant's legal fees if their complaint is judged to be groundless in law or fact (loser pays on frivolous lawsuits).
Funeral protests (HB718):
Those who want to picket a Texas funeral must end their protests three hours before a funeral begins. Protestors also must wait for three hours to pass when funeral services conclude.
Rape tests (SB1616):
This law creates a faster timetable for the DNA testing process, requiring police investigators to submit rape-kit evidence for lab review within 30 days of collection. Those labs must then test the samples within three months.
Campaign donors
Political contributions for individual candidates will be limited to $5,000 from individuals and $10,000 from corporations, labor unions and trade associations.
House Bill 1936 and Senate Bill 1407 were introduced to the Texas Legislature in early March 2011. These bills are identical and specifically repeal Sections 107.07(B) and (C) that allow personal importation of wine into the state of Texas. It is unknown whether this could apply to the current wine shipping law but it is certainly possible.
Voters who show up to polls with only their voter registration cards will be given six days to produce a photo ID, or their ballots will not be counted.
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He's been Governor for ten years, in a time of economic decline for the US, Texas is booming. The reason why is because Texas Governors are very active with the legislature. They push through laws, like "loser pays" on civil suits. That kind of thing creates a situation wherein 10,000 doctors have hung up their shingle in Texas in the past ten years (instead of fleeing the state (i.e. California, New York, and Illinois).
The biggest problem with him becoming President next year is that Texas will lose it's Governor and Lt. Governor (the Lt. Guv is running for US Senator).
The First Amendment says you can protest, but doesn't specify when you can protest. Is the right to protest "on demand" implied ? Scalia can best answer that question.
Like I said, and the courts have held over and over again, the distastefulness of the speech or speaker is not a consideration.
The constitution is making a nice come back, especially where gun laws are concerned.
These protestors, I don't know. I appreciate free speech, and I think it is routinely cracked down upon unconstitutionally. I don't mean just dancing, but people being arrested for video'ing cops, people being ticketed for flashing their lights as a warning of a cop hiding out, and storage of internet information from people connecting (mostly in Europe, but it is coming here.)
Then again, with all the wars Obama has been continuing and starting (Libya/Yeman), I find it interesting there are no anti-war protests from the left like under Bush. (I am independent.)
I will say that a lot of regulation is muting people. Requirements to pay off the police, pay off insurance companies, pay off the local government goons, etc. -- doesn't strike me has free speech, but if you can afford to pay the government speech.