With Democrats fleeing to Washington and all the wrangling over voting reform, you may have missed one piece of landmark legislation to emerge from the Texas special legislative session.
A bill designed to combat sex trafficking is the first in the nation to make soliciting sex from a prostitute a state jail felony carrying jail time of six months up to two years and a potential $10,000 fine for a first offense.
Get convicted a second time and the possible punishment could be 10 years.
Buying sex from a minor is already a felony, but as of Sept. 1, patronizing an adult prostitute will be a more serious offense as well.
For many years, law enforcement has gone after prostitutes, pimps and madams. Customers, or "Johns" as they are often called, could face arrest and maybe embarrassment if their names turned in the local newspaper but, for the most part, got off pretty easy with just a citation - if that.
The new law is designed to go after demand as well as supply, so to speak. Lawmakers hope stronger penalties will make potential customers think twice about spending money with prostitutes.
Will it? That remains to be seen. A lot will depend on how vigorously police apply the law and how consistently courts hand down tough sentences. Sex is a strong motivator. But making the potential punishment a lot more severe and more likely can be a strong deterrent.
Some may see this as a waste of time on a "victimless" crime. Think again. Demand for prostitution fuels sexual exploitation and often physical abuse of women and minors. Some are kept as virtual slaves by the callous and greedy criminals who control the racket. This law goes after their motivation - the money. If it succeeds to any degree, then maybe other states will follow Texas' lead.