Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) signed a bill into law Friday to keep private employers from mandating COVID-19 vaccines.

Any employer found punishing its employees for not being vaccinated against the coronavirus can now face a $50,000 fine. The original sponsor of Senate Bill 7, state Sen. Mayes Middleton, had drafted a bill that included a fine of $10,000, but the Texas House raised the fine.

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This law will apply to unpaid employees as well as doctor's offices and health clinics. By law, employers are allowed to require that unvaccinated staff wear masks or pursue other protective measures.

Middleton referred to the law as "the strongest ban on COVID vaccine mandates in the nation" in a post on X, the social media platform formerly called Twitter, shortly after it passed the Senate.

"I thank Sen. Middleton and Rep. Jeff Leach for their leadership in protecting Texans' personal liberties," Abbott wrote at the time when Bill 7 passed both chambers.

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This week marks the last week of the Texas legislative session. The other laws created resulted in funding increases for public schools and their teachers, as well as toward Operation Lonestar, which is the state's initiative to increase border security.

Texas received over 80 million total doses of the COVID-19 vaccine up until May 2023, when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stopped tracking doses received by each state. It added up to some 64% of the population becoming fully vaccinated.