Texas State Laws

Texas is known for being one of the largest states in the country. Houston, Texas is currently the fourth-largest city in the country and the largest within the state. San Antonio is the seven-largest city in the country and the second-largest within the state.

Texas' metropolitan areas, including the Greater Houston area and the Dallas-Forth Worth area are the sixth- and fourth-largest metropolitan areas in the United States. These areas grew from cattle ranching during the post-Civil War nation. Oil companies then began to dominate the state in the next century, creating new economic advances for citizens. High tech economies then grew as well as Fortune 500 companies.

Texas has some of the leading industries in the nation, including petrochemicals, agriculture, computers, energy, electronics, biomedical sciences, and aerospace. This vast state is governed by state laws as well as federal laws. Some of the laws Texas maintains include labor laws, divorce laws, gun laws, bankruptcy laws, federal conviction laws, expungement laws, and many others.

Divorce
Every state in the nation has its own requirements for how divorce cases are handled. Texas requires that individuals filing for divorce first reside within the state for no less than six months. After this time period individuals are considered state residents. All divorce petitions may be filed by one individual but must be filed to his or her county of residency or that of his or her spouse. Each county circuit court handles its own divorce cases, so if a petition is filed to the wrong court or if a petition is filed incorrectly, the case will be dismissed.

Non-Texas residents are permitted to file for Texas divorces if their spouses are Texas residents. Texas law requires that before filing individuals remain in their county of filing for no less than ninety days. After six months those serving in the military and stationed in the state are considered state residents.

Drunken Driving
All convictions for driving under the influence are distributed via prior offenses and offense circumstances. The more prior offenses an individual has, the greater and lengthier his or her punishment will be. A first driving under the influence offense can earn up to two thousand dollars in fines, seventy-two hours in a county or local jail, twelve hours of mandatory DWI education courses, driver's license suspension, fee payments, and twenty-four hours of community service with a chance of up to one hundred additional hours. A second and first driving under the influence offense is considered a Class A Misdemeanor, but a third offense is a third degree felony.

Felonies
Texas breaks its felony offenses into four sections. These range from Capital offenses down Class C Felonies. Punishments can include the death penalty, life in prison, probation, imprisonment, fines, community service, and others.

Sick Pay
Texas law does not require its businesses and companies to provide payment for sick leave. Federal law also does not require this. Rather than provide paid sick leave, most companies instead often choose to provide paid time off. Paid time off also includes sick days and personal days.