New Laws Taking Effect In New Year

A spate of new laws took effect on Jan. 1, The Dallas Morning News reported. Here’s a brief summary of the most notable new laws now in force:

• County sheriff’s offices are now required to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after the passage of Senate Bill 8. Local jail staff are now authorized to verify the immigration status of inmates and to honor certain federal immigration warrants. A grant program was created by the state to help sheriffs cover training and implementation costs related to the new law.

• Eviction proceedings involving unauthorized occupants must be held in court from 10 to 21 days of filing. Also, the new law limits legal delays occupants may take to avoid eviction.

• With the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence systems into many aspects of daily lives, House Bill 149 established a statewide framework for regulating AI and providing transparency. Companies using AI must notify people when they are interacting with an AI system. The law also created a state advisory group to oversee the implementation of oversight and compliance. Penalties can be assessed for violations of the new requirements.

• The business inventory tax exemption has been raised to $125,000, cutting property taxes for small businesses that maintain stock. The previous exemption was $2,500.

Texas Small Businesses Optimistic About 2026 

Most Texas small-business owners are optimistic about 2026 and expect their businesses to grow, according to a survey conducted by Comerica Bank of roughly 1,000 small-business owners, the Houston Chronicle reported. Nearly 80% expect sales growth this year, and about 70% plan to make capital investments, the survey indicated. “While the headlines about the economy can be disconcerting, small business owners are telling us that they see much brighter prospects for the part of the economy that touches their business directly,” said Comerica Bank chief economist Bill Adams. “That’s an encouraging sign that the underlying trend for small business is still solid.” Despite the uncertainty surrounding the impact of tariffs and a slowing of growth in the national economy, Adams said the recent interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve and lower effective tax rates for businesses under the major financial bill passed last summer are encouraging to small-business owners.

The state’s gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 6.8% in the second quarter of 2025, compared to 3.8% nationally.

Student Loan Borrowers Could See Wages Withheld Beginning this month, the Trump administration has threatened to withhold wages from borrowers who have not made a student loan payment in the past nine months or longer, the San Antonio Express-News reported. An estimated $131.9 billion in outstanding student loans are owed by Texans, according to the Education Data Initiative.

The federal Department of Education confirmed recently that it could begin seizing up to 15% of a person’s disposable income from his or her employer until the defaulted loan is paid in full or removed from default. Nearly 5.5 million borrowers are currently in default. The pandemic-era pause on repayments was ended by the Trump administration last year.

Critics of the move worry about the effect of garnishing income in the current financial climate, the Express-News reported.