A last-ditch effort: Texas abortion providers made a last-minute plea to the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to overturn the state’s new abortion restrictions law. The new law, set to come into effect Wednesday, would ban the procedure after six weeks of pregnancy — a period when many women are unaware that they are pregnant. Providers and abortion advocacy groups say this would affect at least 85% of the abortions taking place in the state.

The law would allow members of the general public to sue those who might have violated the restrictions, which providers call a bounty hunting scheme. On Sunday, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied a request to block the bill and canceled a hearing scheduled for Monday where at least 20 abortion providers hoped to testify against the measures, which would be some of the strictest in the country. Many providers had sued in an attempt to overturn the law.

Meanwhile, also on Monday, the state Legislature tentatively approved Senate Bill 4, which would prevent physicians or providers from giving abortion-inducing medication to patients who are more than seven weeks pregnant. Current law allows practitioners to give those pills to patients who are up to 10 weeks pregnant.

Texas’ voting bill: Though delayed in their quest, Texas Republicans are close to passing Senate Bill 1, the sweeping legislation to restrict the state’s voting process and narrow local control of elections. Below is a brief summary of some of the most significant portions of the wide-ranging legislation expected to become law. (Read the full breakdown by the Tribune’s Alexa Ura here.) It will go into effect three months after the special legislative session, kicking in before the 2022 primary elections.

• Ban on drive-thru voting: The bill outlaws drive-thru voting, which several counties used in 2020 to allow voters to cast ballots from their car.
• Ban on 24-hour voting: SB 1 restricts early voting to a newly established window of 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., which would outlaw the 24 hours of uninterrupted voting Harris County offered at a few polling places for one day during the 2020 election.
• Mail-in ballot applications: It will become a state jail felony for local election officials to send unsolicited applications to request a mail-in ballot. That same punishment applies to officials who approve the use of public funds “to facilitate” the unsolicited distribution of applications by third-parties, which would keep counties from providing applications to local groups helping get out the vote.
• New ID requirements: The legislation further tightens rules for voting by mail by setting new ID requirements. Under SB 1, voters must provide their driver’s license numbers or, if they don’t have those, the last four digits of their Social Security numbers, on applications for those ballots. They must also provide those numbers on the envelopes used to return their completed ballots.
• Poll watchers: The legislation includes language to strengthen the autonomy of partisan poll watchers by granting them “free movement” within a polling place, except for being present at a voting station when a voter is filling out their ballot.

New laws: On Wednesday, 666 new Texas laws will go into effect. Debated, passed and signed during the 87th Texas Legislature, these laws include changes to public safety, health care and K-12 education. Here’s a list of 10 new laws you should know about. (Read the full list by the Tribune’s Andrew Zhang here.)

• Texas’ 2022-2023 budget: Senate Bill 1 provides nearly $250 billion for Texas, with significant funds for public higher education.
• Permitless carry: House Bill 1927 allows Texans ages 21 and older to carry handguns without training or a license as long as they are not otherwise legally prevented from doing so.
• Abortion restrictions: Senate Bill 8 prohibits abortions as early as six weeks into pregnancy. Instead of government enforcement, private individuals can sue abortion providers or people who assist abortion at that stage.
• Medical marijuana expansion: People with any form of cancer or post-traumatic stress disorder now have access to low-THC cannabis for medical purposes.
• Reducing barriers to SNAP: Senate Bill 224 simplifies access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for seniors and disabled people on fixed incomes.
• Funding the “1836 Project”: House Bill 2497 establishes an “1836 Project” committee to produce patriotic Texas history materials, which will be distributed through channels such as people receiving driver’s licenses.
• Social studies curriculum changes: House Bill 3979 limits teachers from discussing current events and systemic racism in class.
• “Star Spangled Banner Protection Act”: Professional sports teams with state funding are required to play the national anthem before games under Senate Bill 4.
• Punishing cities that cut police budgets: If municipalities with a population of more than 250,000 reduce their police budgets, House Bill 1900 allows the state to financially punish the cities by reducing sales tax revenues and preventing increases in property taxes.
• Criminalizing homeless camping: House Bill 1925 makes camping in unapproved public places a misdemeanor crime that carries a fine of up to $500. Cities cannot opt out of the ban.

• At least 100 Texas hospitals reported that their ICU beds were filled to capacity between Aug. 20 and Aug. 26. Every week, the federal government releases the ICU capacity data reported by about 200 Texas hospitals with more than four ICU patients or four staffed ICU beds. Look up the ones near you.
• After months in limbo during a new pandemic wave, Texas lawmakers passed a bill Monday afternoon that will expand and fund virtual learning, but it would exclude students who failed their STAAR exams.
• A sweeping revision of the process for releasing accused criminals on bail was passed by the Texas House on Monday, nearly three months after the GOP-priority legislation stalled in the regular legislative session.
• The Texas House has approved nearly $2 billion in additional funding for border security operations, giving Gov. Greg Abbott more state dollars to implement his plans to build a border wall and incarcerate migrants for state criminal offenses in an effort to deter migrants from coming to the state.
• Former state Rep. John Wray, R-Waxahachie, is running to reclaim his old seat Tuesday in a special election that includes seven other candidates, including four fellow Republicans. The contest for House District 10 was triggered last month after the former incumbent, Jake Ellzey, R-Waxahachie, won a promotion to Congress.
• Gov. Greg Abbott said Monday he would deploy emergency resources to Louisiana to aid in Hurricane Ida recovery efforts.