The special session of the legislature begins on Tuesday, July 18. Dallas Voice will be there for the opening and for the protests that are planned in Austin.
Legislators are preparing for the special session by filing a variety of bills that prevent cities from passing ordinances to self-govern and to make the lives of transgender people miserable. Equality Texas is tracking those bills. Here are four of the worst that have been filed so far:
HB 46 by Rep. Simmons would prohibit all political subdivisions, including municipalities, school districts, and state colleges and universities, from adopting or enforcing any ordinances or policies that protect transgender people in bathrooms or changing facilities.
HB 50 by Rep. Simmons is similar to HB 46, but relates only to school districts, prohibiting them from adopting or enforcing policies that protect transgender students in bathrooms or changing facilities.
SB 23 by Sen. Hall is a statewide pre-emption bill that would prohibit counties, municipalities, and other political subdivisions from adopting or enforcing laws or ordinances that prohibit discrimination on a basis not protected in state law, and would void all current nondiscrimination ordinances such as those adopted by Fort Worth, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio and Plano.
The links will help track the progress of these bills as they make their way through the special session. Speaker of the House Joe Straus is on record opposing wasting time with these types of bills and said he is not willing to be responsible for a single suicide that might result from passing any of these bills. He’s not likely to place these bills in committees that would be sympathetic to them.