Legislation identical to two failed regular session bills seeking to restrict what bathrooms transgender people can use in government and school buildings have been filed in the Texas House and Senate after Gov. outlined the restrictions as a special session priority.
State Sen. filed on Thursday, days after Lt. Gov. the Galveston Republican would carry the special session鈥檚 鈥渂athroom bill.鈥� The bill is identical to , filed by Rep. , R-Spring, as well as filed by Middleton during the regular session. Sen. , R-Brenham, is also listed as a coauthor for SB 7.
SB 7 and HB 32 would mandate that multiuse bathrooms at K-12 schools, public universities and state and municipal government buildings only be used by people of one sex or another, as indicated on their birth certificate. Violating the provision would carry a $5,000 first-time fine and $25,000 for any subsequent violations.
The bills also would disallow trans people from being housed in jails and prisons matching their identifying gender and would turn away trans women from women鈥檚 violence shelters. Attorney General would be given oversight to investigate complaints about alleged violations, according to the bill.
Legislation restricting bathroom usage was placed on the special session agenda by Abbott, with the goal of 鈥減rotecting women鈥檚 privacy in sex-segregated spaces.鈥� SB 7 and HB 32 aim to uphold that ideal, as both are dubbed the 鈥淭exas Women鈥檚 Privacy Act.鈥�
During the regular session this year, SB 240 passed along party lines and was sent to the House, where neither it nor its House equivalent, , received a hearing. But representatives in the lower chamber had hinted at their appetite for the proposal in March, when a of the House signed on as co-authors to HB 239. HB 32 currently has Swanson listed as the sole author of the legislation.
Middleton, R-Galveston, was not immediately available for a request for comment, according to a spokesperson with his office.
Efforts to pass a bathroom bill have risen and fallen since 2017, when similar legislation was also placed on a special session agenda before failing to garner enough support. The new bills are more robust than their 2017 counterparts, however, as the proposed $5,000 fine is higher than 鈥檚 $1,000 proposal and have provisions that may insulate the bill from legal challenges, should it be passed.
If either bill is passed and signed by Abbott, it will join set to go into effect in September that will have long-lasting effects on transgender people in Texas, including new requirements for medical documentation and a state definition of male and female.
The laws are part of a growing trend among government officials cracking down on the presence of transgender people in public life, including a filed by Paxton and issued by President Donald Trump in January. Most of those have been directed at the limited presence of trans athletes in professional, club and collegiate sports.
