Handful of new Texas laws take effect Jan. 1

House Bill 62 prohibits judges -- from county court-at-law judges to Supreme Court justices-- from holding a financial interest in a private correctional, rehabilitation or community residential facility. House Bill 62 prohibits judges -- from county court-at-law judges to Supreme Court justices-- from holding a financial interest in a private correctional, rehabilitation or community residential facility. Photo: Brett Coomer, Staff Photo: Brett Coomer, Staff Image 1 of / 44 Caption Close Handful of new Texas laws take effect Jan. 1 1 / 44 Back to Gallery

If one of your New Year's resolutions is to comply with all Texas state laws that take effect Jan. 1, you're getting off easy in 2015.

Only a half-dozen items previously approved by the Legislature become law Thursday, and they all target a narrow audience. Two, in fact, specify Harrison County in northeast Texas.

Nothing among these new laws changes the regulation of hot-button topics such as smoking, drinking, texting while driving, using marijuana or providing abortion.

Cities, of course, have their own lists. Austin and San Antonio, for example, have new ordinances that make it illegal to use a portable electronic device while operating a vehicle, unless using headphones or another hands-free system.

See the new laws in the slideshow above.