Transgender bathroom bill added to Texas flood-relief special session

Texas lawmakers will convene next week for a special session to consider legislation addressing the deadly floods that devastated parts of the state earlier this month — and a bill regarding which restrooms transgender Texans can use.

When Gov. Greg Abbott initially called for a special session in June, it was to tackle six bills he had vetoed during the regular session, among them a contentious measure that would have banned hemp products containing THC. But after flash floods overwhelmed parts of central Texas on July 4 — resulting in at least 120 deaths with many more still missing — the intended focus shifted to flood relief.

However, when the governor’s 18-point agenda was released last week, it included far more than flood-related measures. In addition to considering bills that would restrict hemp products, Abbott has also asked lawmakers to consider legislation “further protecting unborn children and their mothers from the harm of abortion” and legislation “protecting women’s privacy in sex-segregated spaces.”

On Monday, the first day lawmakers were able to file bills for the special session, none of the 82 measures filed mentioned the deadly July 4 floods, according to KXAN-TV, NBC’s Austin affiliate.

Republican state Rep. Valoree Swanson introduced the so-called bathroom bill, which would require transgender people to use bathrooms that correspond to their birth sex in public schools, government buildings and correctional facilities. If House Bill 32, known as the Texas Women’s Privacy Act, becomes law, public entities that violate the measure could face financial penalties and be subject to civil lawsuits.

Currently, 19 states across the country restrict which bathrooms and other sex-segregated facilities transgender people can use, according to Movement Advancement Project, an LGBTQ think tank.

Texas’ 89th legislative session, which ended June 2, resulted in the proposal of 88 anti-LGBTQ bills, four of which were passed into law, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. These new laws include a measure that bans diversity, equity and inclusion in public schools and one that strictly defines man and woman based on their reproductive organs.