30 laws went into effect in Texas New Year’s Day: a look at some of the most high-impact legislation

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- With the New Year, comes the implementation of new laws across the country, including here in Texas. 30 new laws took effect Monday, covering an array of economic, social, educational, and more issues.

A number of the new laws tackle changes in tax codes, and deal with controversial conversations regarding equity at colleges, and school safety. We outline four high-impact laws for you below:

HB796

House Bill 796 requires appraisal review boards, or ARBs, to provide an Internet database related to appraisal protest hearings.

An appraisal is an assessment of how much a property is valued. People can protest appraisals, and protest hearings are taken up by ARBs.

The law requires each database to include, among other factors, the value initially determined by the ARB, the protest and the value the property owner believes their property should be, and the result of the hearing.

HB4101

House Bill 4101 also deals with appraisal protest hearings. It allows for a third-party with knowledge about hearing procedures to make sure the ARB is following them.

SB 17

Senate Bill 17 dismantles Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) offices on public college campuses, like UTEP.

HB473

House Bill 473 requires schools to notify parents if their child is the subject of a 'threat assessment.'

ABC-7 interviewed Dr. Richard Pineda, a political scientist at UTEP, to ask about the implications of each of these four laws. We will bring a more extensive breakdown of them, featuring Pineda's input on them, Monday night on ABC-7 at 10.