Today, the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition (TCJC) released a guide analyzing positive justice legislation that became law during Texas’ 2021 regular session. The majority of bills go into effect on Wednesday, September 1.
It has taken years of grief counseling to help Annie Hernandez openly discuss the loss of her son. Joshua died in 2019 in Austin, after unknowingly taking a Xanax pill laced with fentanyl. He was 33 and had been in a car accident that led to a painkiller addiction, she said. But his life could have been saved by Narcan, an opioid overdose antidote that can quickly halt the deadly effects of narcotics, Hernandez said.
The Texas state legislature, which convenes only on odd years, passed 666 new laws which went into effect on September 1, 2021. Of course, all of these laws have been subject to national scrutiny, though some yield more controversy than others. This week, The Conversation will focus on one such bill: HB1925 which criminalizes homeless camping on public grounds.
