New Braunfels, TX

New Braunfels permits veterinary hospitals by right in its commercial and industrial zoning districts, but attaches a specific operating limit to outdoor kennels. The Code of…

Running a pet grooming business in New Braunfels requires a $50 permit under the city's Animal Fee Schedule, on top of standard business registration. Zoning confines grooming shops to…

New Braunfels charges a $5.00 annual license fee for an unneutered cat and a one-time $5.00 lifetime fee for a neutered cat with a current rabies certificate, under the city's Animal…

New Braunfels caps most households at four dogs, cats, or rabbits over three months old per address, with an exception for feral cats kept in an approved trap-neuter-return colony.

New Braunfels bans keeping wild or vicious animals, including poisonous or dangerous reptiles, as household pets unless state-licensed.

Retail pet shops in New Braunfels cannot sell dogs or cats unless the animals came from a shelter or animal welfare organization.

New Braunfels makes it a criminal offense to intentionally feed deer, geese, or other wild animals on private or public property, with narrow exceptions for elevated bird feeders and…

New Braunfels allows up to four chicken hens per lot under 40,000 square feet, with registration rather than a permit. Roosters are prohibited, and the covered enclosure must sit 10…

New Braunfels city code bars the animal shelter from adopting out an unclaimed dog or cat unless it's already sterilized or the adopter signs a written pledge to sterilize it by a set…

New Braunfels has no breed ban: dogs are declared dangerous based on documented behavior, then face strict confinement, insurance, and registration rules.

Texas keeps beekeeping light-touch: registration with the Texas Apiary Inspection Service is voluntary, not required to own hives. Beekeepers may register annually with the chief…

New Braunfels limits landscape watering to two designated days per week year-round by street address, with tighter day-per-week and time-of-day cuts once NBU declares a drought stage.

New Braunfels requires homebuilders and developers to offer a xeriscape option among the landscaping choices given to buyers of new single-family homes, and to landscape at least one…

New Braunfels requires replacement trees or a mitigation-fund payment whenever a protected or heritage tree is legally removed.

New Braunfels caps weeds, brush, and unmowed vegetation at 12 inches on real property within 150 feet of a property line abutting streets, alleys, or easements.

Owners must trim or remove hazardous tree parts overhanging the right-of-way, sidewalks, and easements at their own expense.

New Braunfels' zoning landscaping article skips single-family and two-family homes entirely, so no permit or plant-material rule governs artificial turf in a residential yard.

Texas Property Code 202.007 prohibits HOAs from banning rainwater harvesting systems, and Health & Safety Code 341.042 sets statewide standards for harvested rainwater used as a…

New Braunfels requires a building permit for a residential pool unless it's a small prefab unit under 24 inches deep.

New Braunfels adopts the 2021 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code, requiring every outdoor and indoor pool or spa to be surrounded by a compliant entry barrier.

New Braunfels bans stopping or parking on sidewalks, in intersections, and in front of driveways, and requires cars to park facing the direction of traffic within 18 inches of the curb.

New Braunfels rewards on-site EV charging with real parking relief. City Code Section 144-5.1-3(c) lets a convenience store with fuel sales or a filling station count 100 percent of…

New Braunfels caps freight curb loading zone stops at 30 minutes and passenger loading zones at 3 minutes citywide.

New Braunfels bars parking any commercial motor vehicle over 8,000 pounds GVWR, or any commercial trailer or semi-trailer, on public streets and rights-of-way in residential districts…

New Braunfels bans keeping a wrecked, junked, or inoperative vehicle on private property for more than 30 days unless it's fully enclosed in a building.

New Braunfels makes it unlawful to paint, stain or mark any sign, figure, character or letter on a sidewalk, curb or paved street anywhere in the city unless the city engineer approves…

New Braunfels requires every residential and commercial off-street parking area, including home driveways, to be surfaced with concrete or asphalt: bare dirt or gravel parking is not…

New Braunfels neighborhoods can petition the city to become a permit-only parking area under Code § 126-354. Once city council adopts the district by ordinance, the code declares the…

New Braunfels bans parking on any street in the business district between 1:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. every day under Code of Ordinances § 126-347. The restriction applies wherever the…

Texas Occupations Code chapter 2308 sets the statewide rules for nonconsent towing and vehicle booting. A vehicle owner has 14 business days to demand a hearing in the justice court…

New Braunfels caps fences and walls at eight feet everywhere, residential or not, but cuts that down sharply in front yards and at street corners. Section 144-5.3-2 limits front-yard…

New Braunfels bars retaining walls, like hedges, steps and fences, from sitting in a street or alley right-of-way: the whole structure must be on private property under Code of…

Most ordinary fences in New Braunfels do not need a building permit, but three kinds always do. Section 14-27, the city's amendment to the International Building Code's Section 105.2…

Under Texas Agriculture Code Chapter 143, Subchapter F, you cannot tear out a fence you jointly own with a neighbor, or one attached to a neighbor's fence, without mutual consent. To…

New Braunfels lets residents burn a contained recreational fire only in an approved container at least 10 feet from any structure or combustible material, under the city's local…

New Braunfels requires an approved, listed smoke detector in every rented or leased dwelling, apartment, and sleeping room, installed and maintained by the landlord.

Texas Occupations Code Chapter 2154 governs fireworks sales and use, while Local Government Code Chapter 352 limits how counties can restrict consumer fireworks during drought. The…

Selling, transporting, dispensing, or storing propane (LP-gas) in Texas requires a license from the Railroad Commission of Texas under Natural Resources Code Chapter 113. Only the…

New Braunfels' noise ordinance sets decibel caps for residential and commercial sound sources, but Section 82-9 specifically exempts aircraft in flight or operating at an airport…

New Braunfels bars construction work and construction noise between 9:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. under City Code § 14-7. The ban covers permit holders and unpermitted work alike; running…

New Braunfels caps sound from commercial and industrial properties at 85 dB(A) by day, dropping to 75 dB(A) at night when the source sits within 100 feet of a residential district.

New Braunfels caps amplified sound from music venues at 85 decibels during the day, dropping to 80 decibels at night for venues within 100 feet of homes.

New Braunfels bans engine (Jake) brakes that cause loud, explosive noise, plus muffler cutouts and backfiring on any public street in the city.

New Braunfels tightens its residential noise ceiling every night: sound measured at the nearest public right-of-way can run up to 85 decibels between 10:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m., but…

New Braunfels exempts lawn and garden power tools, including gas leaf blowers, from its noise ordinance only when run between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. and under 85 decibels.

New Braunfels prohibits excessive noise or disturbance outside any short-term rental between 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m., covering decks, porches, balconies, patios, hot tubs, pools…

New Braunfels requires every short-term rental to carry general commercial liability insurance of at least $500,000.00 per occurrence, with the owner filing a certificate showing the…

New Braunfels caps overnight guests in a short-term rental at two people per sleeping room plus two more, with bathroom ratios tied to that count.

New Braunfels charges a 7% hotel occupancy tax on short-term rentals renting for less than 30 days, collected by the operator and remitted monthly to the city's chief financial officer.

New Braunfels requires at least one off-street parking space per sleeping room for every permitted short-term rental, and bars any of that required parking from sitting in the public…

New Braunfels treats a short-term rental as a repeat offender if the permittee, operator or owner fails to comply with any part of the STR ordinance more than twice in 12 months, or if…

Every short-term rental in New Braunfels needs a city permit before it can operate legally, no matter the zoning district, and most also need a discretionary special use permit under…

New Braunfels allows one accessory dwelling per lot in single-family zones, attached or detached, capped by accessory-building size limits.

New Braunfels caps accessory buildings and sheds at the height of the main house, requires a 60-foot front setback or placement behind the house, a 5-foot side setback, and limits lots…

Texas has no tiny-home-specific statute. Any transportable, chassis-mounted dwelling that reaches 320 square feet is manufactured housing under Occupations Code Chapter 1201, built to…

New Braunfels allows home-based businesses in residential zones only if they stay incidental to the home, capped at 30% of floor area or 600 square feet.

New Braunfels caps signage for a home-based business at one non-illuminated sign, physically attached to the house exterior, no larger than four square feet. The rule sits inside Sec…

New Braunfels caps home-based businesses at ordinary residential traffic levels and bars on-site retail sales to walk-in customers.

New Braunfels zoning lets you run a licensed family home child care out of your house by right in every residential district, capped at 12 children total.

Texas does not license cottage food at all. Health and Safety Code Section 437.0191(a) declares that a cottage food production operation is not a food service establishment, and…

New Braunfels bars any flying machine, device, or vehicle from taking off or landing anywhere in the city: language broad enough to sweep in recreational drones outside the municipal…

New Braunfels' water conservation code notes that Texas Property Code Chapter 202 voids any HOA deed restriction that prohibits efficient irrigation systems like drip lines, though…

Under the Texas Residential Property Owners Protection Act, unpaid assessments become a lien (Tex. Prop. Code § 209.0094), but a Texas HOA may not foreclose that lien without first…

Texas Property Code Chapter 209 governs residential subdivision homeowners associations, not condominium associations and not associations that are themselves subject to the Public…

Property Code Section 202.007 voids any homeowners association rule that bans drought-resistant landscaping or water-conserving natural turf, and Section 202.008 bars fines for a brown…

Texas Property Code section 202.012 stops homeowners associations from banning display of the U.S. flag, the Texas flag, or an official U.S. armed forces flag. An association can…

Texas Property Code Chapter 209 governs HOA fines, but only for mandatory-membership subdivisions; condos fall under Chapter 82 instead. State law sets no dollar cap on a fine, only a…

A Texas property owners' association cannot sell your home at a trustee's sale the way a mortgage lender can. Tex. Prop. Code Section 209.0092 requires the association to obtain a…

Texas Property Code Section 209.016 sets no cap on how much of a subdivision an association can rent out, no minimum lease term, and no grandfather clause: a declaration can still ban…

New Braunfels does not require automatic fire sprinklers in new one- and two-family homes. City Code § 14-29(e) amends IRC § R313.2 so the design standard, IRC P2904 or NFPA 13D, only…

New Braunfels requires anyone doing roofing work as a trade to register with the city as a "contractor-limited," carry liability insurance, and renew that registration every year by…

New Braunfels runs the 2020 National Electrical Code and requires a city permit plus a registered, insured electrical contractor for any electrical work.

New Braunfels folds home day cares into its residential building code rather than leaving them as ordinary houses: § 14-29(aa) adopts the International Residential Code's Home Day Care…

New Braunfels adopts the 2021 International Plumbing Code under City Code § 14-33, replaces the model code's own fee table with city-set permit fees, and separately requires anyone…

New Braunfels requires a city license before anyone runs a utility, communication or other line under, over or on public property or easements long-term. City Code § 114-7 sets a…

New Braunfels bans placing goods, boxes, signs, containers or any other obstruction on a street, alley, sidewalk or the city right-of-way without a city council permit. City Code §…

New Braunfels puts sidewalk repair squarely on the abutting property owner. City Code § 114-3 requires owners, occupants and users to keep sidewalks, driveways and adjoining trees free…

New Braunfels caps temporary holiday lighting at 45 days per holiday and requires removal between holiday periods under its outdoor lighting code.

Off-premise billboards are prohibited citywide under Sec. 106-11(5). On-premise electronic message signs are allowed only as one static monument-style display per lot, kept 150 feet…

New Braunfels lets homeowners post a garage or yard sale sign up to eight square feet, in any zoning district, without pulling a sign permit under Sec. 106-10(b)(14). The sign has to…

On any property with Interstate 35 frontage in New Braunfels, a freestanding sign can be a full pole sign, not just the monument sign required elsewhere in the city: Sec. 106-14(b)(3)…

Window signs are fully exempt from New Braunfels' sign code: Sec. 106-10(a)(12) excludes any sign placed on a window from permitting, size limits, and the rest of Chapter 106's…

Texas Election Code 259.003 and Election Code Section 259.002 protect political signs on private residential property. Cities cannot regulate compliant signs at any time, and HOAs…

No person, vehicle, or activity may be on any New Braunfels city-owned park, playground, or cemetery between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., a citywide floor under Section 86-1(e); most…

Texas HB 1819 (88th Legislature, 2023), codified at Local Government Code 370.008 (originally 370.007), prohibits all Texas municipalities and counties from adopting or enforcing…

Operating a massage parlor in New Braunfels requires a license from the local health authority under City Code § 18-211, backed by a $24 annual fee, a physician's health certificate…

New Braunfels requires all tow operators to hold a Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation permit and follow the city's police rotation-list system before removing a vehicle…

New Braunfels flatly bars auto repair as a home business. Section 144-5.5-5(c) lists 'automobile, boat or trailer paint or repair shop' among the uses that can never qualify as a home…

New Braunfels treats tattoo and body piercing studios as a commercial and industrial land use, not a citywide by-right business. The Code of Ordinances lists "Tattoo and body piercing…

Sexually oriented businesses in New Braunfels need a $500 annual police-issued license and must sit at least 1,000 feet from churches, schools, parks, homes, and other adult businesses.

Anyone selling e-cigarettes to Texas consumers must hold an e-cigarette retailer permit issued by the Comptroller, obtained for each place of business under Health and Safety Code…

New Braunfels designates historic, architectural, and cultural landmarks through a nine-member Historic Landmark Commission and folds the designation into the property's own zoning…

New Braunfels inspects restaurants on a risk-based schedule of one to four visits per year and treats any inspection scoring 31 or more demerits as a failure. A restaurant that fails…

New Braunfels requires sharps to be sealed before they ever reach the curb: Sec. 110-39(k) bans placing loose lancets, syringes or hypodermic needles in a garbage or recycling cart…

New Braunfels' Mobile Home Community Ordinance requires every licensed mobile home park in the city to keep its grounds, buildings and structures free of rodent and insect harborage…

New Braunfels makes it unlawful to employ anyone in a paid food-handling role at a restaurant, food establishment, or mobile food unit without a current food handler's registration…

New Braunfels ties how fast you must fix a leaking pipe or fixture to the city's drought stage. Sec. 130-228 requires repair within 72 hours of an NBU notification year-round…

During a declared Stage III drought, New Braunfels caps new residential and commercial landscape installations at 50 percent turf under Code Sec. 130-228, requiring mulch and zonal…

New Braunfels allows reclaimed wastewater in landscape irrigation under City Code § 14-50(l), but only through purple-coded piping, backflow-protected potable connections and a posted…

New Braunfels does not let sidewalk cafe operators add patio heaters as of right. City Code § 114-10 puts outdoor heaters in a downtown cafe's furniture area on a case-by-case basis…

New Braunfels treats vending at downtown street fairs as the exception, not the rule. City Code § 126-406 states vending activity is generally not permitted in the downtown special…

New Braunfels requires a police-issued permit for any street parade, assemblage, or procession, applied for at least 72 hours ahead.

Closing a New Braunfels street for a block party or neighborhood event requires a written application to the city secretary at least 35 days ahead, and approval is entirely at the…

Reserving a picnic area or table in Landa Park, Hinman Island, Fischer Park, or Prince Solms Park requires a paid permit for non-residents under Section 86-2; city residents get one…

Running an outdoor eating or drinking area on a downtown New Braunfels sidewalk requires a one-year permit from the planning and community development department. City Code § 114-10…

New Braunfels levies its own occupational tax on top of the state occupational tax under City Code § 18-26, but only against callings the state itself already taxes: the city charge…

New Braunfels bans standing, sitting or loitering on the Gruene Street Low Water Bridge over the Guadalupe River during tubing season under Code of Ordinances § 126-302(d). The…

New Braunfels bars skateboards, coasters and similar toy vehicles from every public street and from sidewalks fronting buildings set back ten feet or less, under Code of Ordinances §…

New Braunfels pedestrians crossing outside a marked or unmarked intersection crosswalk must yield the right-of-way to vehicles under Code of Ordinances § 126-298. In business…

Drinking alcohol or carrying an open container is banned across every New Braunfels city park and city-owned property, but five named river-access parks allow a sealed non-disposable…

New Braunfels bans smoking within five feet of the entrances, exits, operable windows, and ventilation intakes of any building where smoking is already prohibited indoors, so…

New Braunfels requires cyclists moving slower than traffic to ride as far right as safely possible under Code of Ordinances § 126-271, with named exceptions for passing, left turns…

New Braunfels bars taxicab, pedicab and transportation network company (TNC) drivers from loading or unloading passengers in the roadway. Sec. 138-15(d) requires curbside pickup: the…

New Braunfels bans shared, GPS-tracked scooters, e-bikes and bicycles from every public sidewalk and right-of-way in the city. Code § 126-492 prohibits any shared mobility service…

Texas lets golf carts onto public roads in four defined situations rather than by general permission: inside a platted master planned community, on a beach open to vehicular traffic…

New Braunfels protects trees by species and size, not automatically. A tree only counts as "protected" once it reaches 25 inches of trunk circumference and appears on the city's…

New Braunfels sets exact clearances for trees planted in street rights-of-way under Code of Ordinances § 118-55. Trees must sit at least six feet back from the curb or shoulder edge…

New Braunfels requires a city permit before removing any heritage or protected tree, with limited exceptions for single-family lots and hazard trees.

New Braunfels treats farming as a by-right use almost everywhere in the city, not just in agricultural zones. Section 144-5.9 permits farms and ranches in both residential and…

New Braunfels' fugitive-dust control rules for construction, grading, and land-clearing do not apply to agricultural commodity production. Section 82-23 exempts dust from raising…

New Braunfels caps outdoor light spilling onto neighboring property at 0.25 foot-candles and requires full-cutoff, fully shielded fixtures for non-residential, multifamily, and…

Outdoor lighting on non-residential and multifamily sites can't throw more than 0.25 foot-candles onto a neighboring residential lot line.

New Braunfels caps single-family homes at 35 feet in R-1 and R-1A residential districts under the zoning code.

New Braunfels sets minimum yard setbacks by zoning district under Chapter 144. In the R-1A-6.6 single-family district, homes need a 25-foot front setback, five-foot side setbacks (15…

New Braunfels sets no lot-coverage cap for single-family homes, but multifamily, business, and industrial districts must keep at least 50 to 55 percent of the tract as yard space…

New Braunfels limits mobile food courts to zoning districts that already allow restaurants, capping each site at ten food trucks under Chapter 144's development standards.

New Braunfels bars mobile food units from selling or serving food on any public street, sidewalk, or right-of-way, with narrow exemptions only for construction-site (Type C) and…

New Braunfels requires anyone operating a mobile food unit to obtain a permit from the local health authority, display it with the latest inspection score, and bring the unit back for…

New Braunfels does not license peddlers, solicitors, or canvassers under Chapter 90; instead it requires them to honor posted "No Solicitors" signs, confines their activity to true…

A posted "No Solicitors" sign makes it illegal for peddlers, solicitors, and canvassers to approach that address in New Braunfels.

New Braunfels requires green waste bagged separately at 40 pounds max, with brush bundled in four-foot lengths for curbside pickup.

The city issues every residential customer a 96- or 65-gallon recycling cart and picks it up every other week, with strict limits on what can go in it.

New Braunfels bars putting carts out before 8:00 p.m. the night before collection and requires them off the curb by 6:00 a.m. on collection day.

Dumping litter, trash, or waste on public or private property in New Braunfels is a public nuisance carrying a mandatory $200–$2,000 fine plus cleanup costs.

New Braunfels runs residential solid waste collection through its own solid waste and recycling division, requiring every household to subscribe and setting garbage pickup at once a…

New Braunfels only collects garbage, recycling and green waste that is set out exactly where Sec. 110-4 says to put it: on the addressed side of the house, roughly five feet clear of…

Before a dumpster goes on a commercial site in New Braunfels, the pad and enclosure have to clear the standards in Sec. 110-58: a building-division permit, a six-inch concrete pad, a…

New Braunfels collects bulk trash and large brush by request only, for a $40 minimum fee, not on a routine curbside day.

New Braunfels declares any unsafe, unsanitary, or uninhabitable building illegal and orders it repaired, secured, or demolished through the Building Standards Commission.

Under Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005, a Texas landlord must give a defaulting or holdover tenant at least three days' written notice to vacate before filing a forcible detainer (eviction)…

Under Tex. Prop. Code § 92.019 a residential late fee must be reasonable and may be charged only if written in the lease and the rent stays unpaid two full days after due. A fee is…

Under Tex. Prop. Code § 91.001, either party may end a month-to-month tenancy by giving notice, and the tenancy ends on the later of the date in the notice or one month after notice is…

Texas law forbids cities from adopting rent control. A municipality may not establish rent control unless its governing body finds a housing emergency caused by a disaster and the…

Texas places no statutory limit on how much a landlord can charge for a security deposit. However, the landlord must refund the deposit within 30 days after the tenant surrenders the…

In Texas a squatter can claim title only through adverse possession, with periods that shorten as the claim strengthens: 3 years under title or color of title (§ 16.024), 5 years with…

New Braunfels bans overnight truck idling citywide, capping engine idle time at ten consecutive minutes for a stationary motor vehicle.

New Braunfels requires every construction site to use best management practices controlling sediment and silt runoff, with a written stormwater pollution prevention plan mandatory once…

New residential construction in New Braunfels floodplain must elevate its lowest floor, including the basement, at least two feet above base flood elevation, certified by a licensed…

New Braunfels requires a floodplain development permit for any construction in FEMA special flood hazard areas, with homes elevated two feet above base flood elevation.

New Braunfels runs a city drainage utility funded by a mandatory fee on every benefited property, under design standards set by the city engineer.

Texas prohibits damaging, destroying, or removing a sand dune or its vegetation seaward of a dune protection line or within a critical dune area unless a permit authorizes the work…

Air conditioning units in New Braunfels are exempt from the city's noise nuisance ordinance only while they stay under 85 dB(A), measured at roughly 15 feet from the unit, on both…

New Braunfels bans open-flame grills and propane cooking devices on balconies and decks at multifamily buildings of three or more units or two-plus stories.

New Braunfels lets any citizen register a smoking-ordinance complaint directly with the environmental services division, which enforces the article alongside the fire department, code…

New Braunfels regulates redevelopment at the northeast corner of Main Plaza through the Main Plaza Overlay District MP-1, a downtown design overlay layered on the C-2 base zoning. It…

Overnight camping, tent erection, and overnight vehicle or RV parking are banned on every city-owned park, playground, and cemetery in New Braunfels, including river-access points like…

Data centers in New Braunfels must stay under 85 dB(A), or 75 dB(A) at night near homes, under the city's nonresidential noise cap.

New Braunfels caps residential garage sales at two per calendar year, spaced at least six months apart, as an exception to the home occupation ban on on-site retail sales; no permit or…

New Braunfels can order repair or demolition of any building that's unsafe, unsanitary, or structurally dangerous under Code Sec. 50-26.

New Braunfels keeps a standing list of 'undesirable trees' that gets no benefit under the city's landscaping code. Appendix B to Section 144-5.3-1 names 19 species, including tree of…

Texas Health & Safety Code Chapter 487 limits cannabis dispensing to state-licensed Compassionate Use Program providers: expanded to as many as 15 organizations by HB 46 (2025). There…

Texas Health & Safety Code 481.121 makes it a crime to possess or grow marijuana anywhere in the state. Home cultivation is illegal in every Texas city and county regardless of plant…

Texas Labor Code Section 62.0515 expressly preempts municipal and county minimum wage ordinances. The state minimum wage equals the federal floor of $7.25 per hour, and political…

Texas appellate courts have struck down municipal paid sick leave ordinances in Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio as preempted under the Texas Minimum Wage Act. HB 2127 (2023) further…

Texas authorizes License to Carry (LTC) holders to carry concealed handguns statewide under Government Code Chapter 411. Since 2021, permitless constitutional carry under HB 1927 also…

Texas Local Government Code Section 229.001 broadly preempts municipal regulation of firearms, ammunition, knives, and related accessories. Cities cannot adopt or enforce ordinances…

Texas authorizes open carry of holstered handguns statewide for adults 21 and older under Penal Code 46.02 and HB 910 (2015). Long guns may be openly carried subject to disorderly…

Texas Penal Code 46.02(a-1) lets any non-prohibited adult carry a handgun inside a personally-owned or leased motor vehicle or watercraft without a License to Carry. Since HB 1927…

Texas nonprofits can conduct bingo only under a license from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, which absorbed the Texas Lottery Commission's charitable bingo program on…

Texas Local Government Code Chapter 234, Subchapter E lets any county's commissioners court license, zone, and inspect "game rooms": for-profit businesses with six or more skill or…

Texas Penal Code § 47.02(a) makes betting at cards, dice, or any game of chance a Class C misdemeanor. Section 47.02(b) supplies a defense: gambling that happens in a private place…

Texas licenses no retail sportsbook and no betting app. Placing a wager on the outcome of a game, contest, or a player's performance is a criminal offense under Penal Code §…

The Texas Legislature has authorized exactly one vehicle checkpoint program, and it has nothing to do with alcohol. Government Code Section 411.0095 lets the Department of Public…

Texas has never enacted an express statutory right to film police, so the legal boundary for a bystander with a phone is set by the offense of Interference with Public Duties, Texas…

Texas Penal Code Section 38.02 makes it a crime to refuse your name, residence address, or date of birth only after a peace officer has already lawfully arrested you. Being detained on…

No Texas statute obliges a driver to consent to a vehicle search, and none requires an officer to warn you that you may refuse. What Texas law does require is a paper trail: Article…

The Texas Supreme Court in City of Laredo v. Laredo Merchants Association (2018) held that Health and Safety Code Section 361.0961 preempts municipal plastic bag bans. Cities and…

Section 202.010 of the Texas Property Code voids any homeowners association rule that bans or restricts installing a solar energy device, a term that under Tax Code Section 171.107…

Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 161 sets the minimum age for purchasing or possessing tobacco and e-cigarette products at 21 statewide, aligned with federal Tobacco 21. Active…

Texas regulates extra lighting by color, count, height and aim rather than by naming underglow. Transportation Code Section 547.305 bars any lamp showing red from directly in front of…

Texas grants no square inches of windshield to a camera. Transportation Code Section 547.613(a)(1) makes it a misdemeanor to operate a vehicle with an object or material placed on or…

Texas banned motorcycle lane splitting in plain words on September 1, 2023. Transportation Code Section 545.0605(a)(3)(B), added by House Bill 4122 of the 88th Legislature, says the…

Texas outlaws license plate covers in Transportation Code Section 504.945(a)(7), which makes it an offense to display a plate carrying a coating, covering, protective substance or…

Texas does not prohibit owning, mounting or using a radar detector in a private passenger vehicle. The one radar offense in the vehicle equipment chapter, Transportation Code Section…

Texas is one of the states that never wrote a studded tire calendar. Transportation Code Section 547.612(c) is the whole of the law: a tire on a moving vehicle may not carry a block…

Texas allows film down to 25 percent light transmission on both front side windows and on the windshield strip, with a matching ceiling of 25 percent luminous reflectance, and it sets…