Byron Cook

Abbott didn’t want bathroom bill despite publicly supporting it, report says

JAMES RUSSELL | Contributing Writer
james.journo@gmail.com
 
Following the passage of a Republican ballot proposition last week that makes it all but certain Republicans intend to revive the bill restricting access to bathrooms and other facilities for transgender individuals during the next legislative session, a new report outlines how the bill could do irreparable harm to the Texas economy.
The report, released Tuesday, March 13, is the culmination of hearings conducted last year by the House Select Committee on Economic Competitiveness, a bipartisan committee formed by Speaker of the House Joe Straus, who is retiring. The committee’s broad mandate included examining how Texas can remain a competitive economic force in a changing global economy.
The report notes the state dropped to number four in the nation on the America’s Top States for Business rankings index, the first time in 11 years the state finished outside the top two spots. Texas bounced back in November 2017, a month after the committee’s formation and three months after the special session ended, rising to number two on the Forbes’ Best States for Business index.
The committee invited 42 business, non-profit, law enforcement and educational executives, including many from Dallas, to tout Texas’ strengths and highlight vulnerabilities. Culled from those findings, the report provides a framework ahead of the 86th Legislature to address challenges such as inadequate school funding, workforce training and outdated infrastructure.
But the state’s economy and ability to provide basic services is threatened when lawmakers dabble in manufactured social issues that are unreasonable, unenforceable and harmful to the economy, according to Committee Chairman Byron Cook, R-Corsicana.
Jessica Shortall with Texas Competes Action, a PAC that lobbied against the Texas bathroom bill last year, agreed. “In 2016, we saw the impact of North Carolina’s bathroom bill. Last year during the legislative session, CEOs spoke out against the Texas one,” Shortall said. “The committee process told us what we know. Yet those who claim to support the issue only used it to divide and win primaries. That said, we saw a deceptively-worded ballot proposition pass for which a small number of people turned out to vote. In 2019 if we see it again I hope opponents will heed the warning in this report.”
Cook, who is also retiring, played an important part in killing the bill as chairman of the powerful State Affairs committee. The bill, championed initially by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, was a divisive issue during last year’s legislative session, pitting the hard-right state Senate against the more business-friendly House, both of which are dominated by Republicans.
After the bill failed to even get a floor vote in the House, Gov. Greg Abbott called a special session that included the bill among the must pass-items that were overlooked during regular session. He continually expressed public support for the bathroom bill as well, which pitted him against business leaders, activists and many prominent Republicans.
Yet Abbott’s staff urged the chairman not to pass the bill last session despite declaring support for it, according to sources that asked not to be identified.
“His actions surprised many because the aides had made it clear, to me and others, during the regular legislative session that the governor did not want that bill on his desk,” Cook said.
“For me, the genesis of this committee was the contemplation of the ‘bathroom bill’ and threats to the Texas economy. This report is the product of smart individuals from all walks of life,” Cook said. “This is their report with the issues they identified. That’s what makes it powerful. The report serves as a baseline for moving forward,” Cook said.
Texas needs to look 20 years forward, the report suggests. In 1992, for instance, a Fort Bend County assistant warned that subdivisions were constructed in flood plains, putting homeowners at risk of losing their homes in the event of a major natural disaster such as a hurricane. Last year, many of those homes were destroyed because of Hurricane Harvey.
“The report was ignored. It would have had a profound effect today,” Cook said.
Without investments in the future, including lagging infrastructure and an undereducated workforce, Texas will be less desirable for businesses seeking to relocate or expand their presence here, the report notes. The Texas Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers graded Texas’ overall infrastructure “C minus.” The state’s drinking water, highways, roads anddams received Ds.
Those problems cannot be fixed without a well-trained and educated workforce. Yet the state is replacing its aging workforce with a younger, undereducated workforce.
Without technical training and investment in education, finding labor will be more difficult. Keeping those workers around will also be more expensive.
In the face of these critical issues, businesses are still concerned about the revival of the bathroom bill next session, especially given the passage of the ballot proposition last week. While partisan propositions are non-binding, they are seen as seen as a party’s top legislative priorities next session.
With almost 90 percent of Republican Primary voters in favor of the proposition, which only called for protecting women and girls in bathrooms, the bill is bound to return.
“Business does not like uncertainty. Laws protecting people in bathrooms and changing rooms are already on the books. They are working,” Cook said, echoing statements by multiple law enforcement individuals.
But there is nothing preventing it from coming back.
“It’s well documented the bill will have a negative economic impact. Businesses value talent and do not like discriminatory policies. Hopefully if this nonsensical legislation is proposed again, House members and the business community will do what is in the best interest for all Texans,” Cook said.
To prevent its resurrection, Cook suggested state officials should condemn the bill.
“Unless and until this public commitment is made by the governor, the 86th Legislature may be distracted from addressing issues important to taxpayers that could make Texas even greater — matters such as property taxes, education and the state budget,” Cook said.