New State Laws January 1st, 2010

Starting January 1st, 2010 more than two dozen State Laws went into effect. These laws will effect everyone from teenages to smokers. Some of the news laws include: Teens 16 to 18 years old who use tanning beds must start providing permission slips, new college students who want to live on campus must prove they have been vaccinated against bacterial meningits, and retailers may only sell cigarettes that extinguish themselves if left unattended. Also there will be a new state wide hand held cell phone usage in school zones and that does include texting messaging - carrying a 500-dollar fine.

Here's a look at other new laws taking effect January 1st, 2010:

Cigarettes: All cigarettes sold in Texas must be "fire safe," or the type that self-extinguish, under a law approved in 2007. Retailers had all of this year to sell their inventory that was not "fire standard compliant" but must stop selling them Friday or face a fine of up to $100 per pack, said Jerry Hagins, a spokesman with the Texas Department of Insurance.

Fire safety: Smoke detectors must be able to alert hearing-impaired Texans living in rental properties, if tenants request it of their landlord. The Americans With Disabilities Act does not require that landlords install visual smoke alarms, although it does require that Texans have access to reasonable accommodations.

Help for renters: Tenants whose utilities are wrongly disconnected by landlords will find some relief. Landlords had faced strict penalties only if the case went to court. The new law changes that, shoring up tenants' rights.

Tenants also will have the right to break a lease, without facing fines or additional charges, if certain sex crimes or domestic violence occur on the property. Current law lets domestic violence victims end a lease only if the cases are documented and if the offender is on the same lease. Now, victims may terminate a lease even if the offender is not on the same lease, and parents of children who are victims of sexual abuse may end a lease in certain circumstances.

Property values: Homeowners in neighborhoods that have been riddled with foreclosures might find some relief. A new law requires appraisal districts to consider properties that have been foreclosed on when determining a home's value. Homeowners in Texas have complained that appraisal districts have excluded foreclosed properties and those with distressed resale values when setting some home values.

Prenatal care: State health officials say that as of Friday, health-care providers must test pregnant women for HIV, syphilis and hepatitis B during their first prenatal visit. They also must do a second HIV test during the third trimester or when the woman is admitted for delivery, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. The goal is to protect babies by treating the woman during pregnancy or the baby after delivery.

For more information please visit www.thecrimlawfirm.com