Latest news with #bathroombill
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Texas' special session on floods, taxes, THC, redistricting could also spend time targeting transgender life
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Gov. Greg Abbott called for the first special session of the 89th Texas State Legislature Wednesday, and set 18 topics for the session. Transgender advocacy groups said that one topic will impact their community. Redistricting, flood warning systems on Texas special session agenda Abbott's special session proclamation includes calls for flood relief and prevention, redrawing congressional election maps, property tax relief, and more. It also opens the door to 'legislation protecting women's privacy in sex-segregated spaces.' KXAN asked the governor's office about the topic's inclusion. This article will be updated if a response is received. Partisan opportunities in a crisis? In a social media post Wednesday, the Transgender Education Network of Texas, or TENT, said it believes that the topic is intended to pass a bathroom bill. 'Texas leadership has made their opinion loud and clear – they do not believe trans people have the right to call Texas home,' said TENT in a social media post. 'Research shows that most Americans would favor laws that protect trans people from discrimination. It's time our leadership starts serving the people of Texas, instead of acting out of selfishly motivated cruelty.' TENT said it plans to keep an eye on the session. Following recent catastrophic floods in Texas, it seems likely that the rest of the state will as well. Alice, a transgender woman living in Austin, said that she's discouraged to see Abbott pushing such a topic during a crisis — alluding to severe flooding. 'In the midst of a real crisis, we are supposed to come together,' Alice said. 'Instead, I worry about more of my rights being taken away by the state. I grew up on values like small government, but Republicans keep proving they care more about bullying queer people than any of their values.' Texas Legislative Progressive Caucus Executive Director Cody Meador claimed, in an email to KXAN, that Abbott's true intent for the session is to redraw Texas' electoral maps. 'Everything else on the Governor's call is being used to serve this deceitful purpose,' Meador said. 'That includes flood relief, and that includes divisive partisan issues like 'protecting women's privacy in sex-segregated spaces,' which can only be interpreted as an attack on our queer community. Both of these are examples of Governor Abbott using Texans' lives as pawns to distract voters from the real threat to our safety and security: MAGA Republicans and their billionaire donors taking over Congress with rigged maps.' Repeating past failures? This isn't the first special session that Abbott has allowed consideration of a restroom ban. In 2017, he called for 'legislation regarding the use of multi-occupancy showers, locker rooms, restrooms, and changing rooms.' However, during that special session, former Rep. Bryon Cook blocked a bill that would have enacted such a ban. 'This is not an issue that rises to the level that we should be distracted from much more important issues,' said Cook at the time, according to prior reporting from KXAN. Coverage from 2017 | Conservative groups target Speaker Straus after 'bathroom bill' failure After 2017, Abbott has called for seven other special sessions, none of which included the topic, according to the Legislative Reference Library of Texas. Earlier this year, Republican Texas Sen. Mayes Middleton filed Senate Bill 240, which was titled as the 'Texas Women's Privacy Act.' That bill would have banned transgender Texans from using public restrooms or changing rooms that correspond with their gender. It also would have incarcerated transgender inmates in prisons aligned with their birth sex. The bill included potential fines that could be brought against political subdivisions of the state for violations. Previous: Texas Senate votes for anti-trans bill restricts bathrooms use, other private spaces Several similar bills were filed during the regular session, with SB 240 going furthest before ultimately failing to pass. While his bill wasn't named in Abbott's proclamation, Middleton celebrated on X as though it was. 'Thanks to [Abbott] for these priorities on the special session agenda: ban taxpayer-funded lobbying, Texas Women's Privacy Act, empowering the Attorney General to prosecute election-related crimes, strengthen pro-life laws, flood relief and preparedness, add Republican seats in Congress, [and] other conservative priorities,' the senator wrote. 'As your next Attorney General, I'm ready to fight and enforce them!' State Sen. Mayes Middleton running for Texas Attorney General No bills have been filed for the upcoming special session yet. It begins July 21 and can only last a maximum of 30 days. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Texas adds transgender bathroom bill to agenda for special legislative session to deal with deadly flooding
A transgender bathroom bill was added to the agenda for Texas' special legislative session to deal with the deadly flooding event on July 4. The 30-day session was called by Governor Greg Abbott in June to deal with six bills he had vetoed. But when flash flooding in Central Texas devastated communities along the Guadalupe River earlier this month, disaster preparedness became a focal point of the session. More than 130 people have died, and just under 100 remain missing, Abbott said Monday. Following the disaster, questions have been raised over whether more could have been done to prevent at least some of the deaths. Last week, Abbott released an 18-point agenda for the special session, which included four points related to the flooding or natural disasters in general. A transgender bathroom bill was added to the agenda for Texas' special legislative session to deal with the deadly flooding event on July 4 () Last week, Governor Greg Abbott released an 18-point agenda for the special session, which included four points related to the flooding or natural disasters in general () Lawmakers will discuss legislation to 'improve early warning systems' and 'strengthen emergency communications' in flood-prone areas. Legislation to 'provide relief funding for response to and recovery from' the early July storms will also be discussed. There is also a more general agenda point to 'evaluate and streamline rules and regulations to speed preparedness for and recovery from natural disasters.' Besides the agenda points related to the flood disaster, Abbott included a point to discuss 'legislation protecting women's privacy in sex-segregated spaces' among other points, such as making it a crime to provide hemp-derived products to those under 21 years old and anti-abortion legislation. Monday was the first day lawmakers could file bills for the special session, and of the 82 bills filed, none were related to the deadly floods, NBC News reported, citing its Austin affiliate, KXAN-TV. Among the measures was a Republican-led bill, known as the Texas Women's Privacy Act, which requires transgender people to use bathrooms that align with their sex assigned at birth in public schools, government buildings and correctional facilities, per NBC News. Under the bill, these public entities could face financial penalties and be sued if they violate the bathroom rules. The regular legislative session, which ended in early June, saw 88 anti-LGBTQ bill proposals, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. Only four were signed into law. There are currently 19 states that have some sort of ban on transgender people using public bathrooms consistent with their gender identity, according to the think tank Movement Advancement Project. The bathroom bill would make transgender people use bathrooms that align with their sex assigned at birth in public places such as schools ()
The Independent
15-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Texas adds transgender bathroom bill to agenda for special legislative session to deal with deadly flooding
A transgender bathroom bill was added to the agenda for Texas ' special legislative session to deal with the deadly flooding event on July 4. The 30-day session was called by Governor Greg Abbott in June to deal with six bills he had vetoed. But when flash flooding in Central Texas devastated communities along the Guadalupe River earlier this month, disaster preparedness became a focal point of the session. More than 130 people have died, and just under 100 remain missing, Abbott said Monday. Following the disaster, questions have been raised over whether more could have been done to prevent at least some of the deaths. Last week, Abbott released an 18-point agenda for the special session, which included four points related to the flooding or natural disasters in general. Lawmakers will discuss legislation to 'improve early warning systems' and 'strengthen emergency communications' in flood-prone areas. Legislation to 'provide relief funding for response to and recovery from' the early July storms will also be discussed. There is also a more general agenda point to 'evaluate and streamline rules and regulations to speed preparedness for and recovery from natural disasters.' Besides the agenda points related to the flood disaster, Abbott included a point to discuss 'legislation protecting women's privacy in sex-segregated spaces' among other points, such as making it a crime to provide hemp-derived products to those under 21 years old and anti-abortion legislation. Monday was the first day lawmakers could file bills for the special session, and of the 82 bills filed, none were related to the deadly floods, NBC News reported, citing its Austin affiliate, KXAN-TV. Among the measures was a Republican -led bill, known as the Texas Women's Privacy Act, which requires transgender people to use bathrooms that align with their sex assigned at birth in public schools, government buildings and correctional facilities, per NBC News. Under the bill, these public entities could face financial penalties and be sued if they violate the bathroom rules. The regular legislative session, which ended in early June, saw 88 anti-LGBTQ bill proposals, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. Only four were signed into law. There are currently 19 states that have some sort of ban on transgender people using public bathrooms consistent with their gender identity, according to the think tank Movement Advancement Project.
