Texas Gov. Abbott signs sweeping "bathroom bill" targeting transgender people
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Texas has adopted among the most restrictive bills in the nation limiting restroom access for transgender people in government buildings and schools.
Why it matters: The law sets sweeping restrictions that reshape access to public spaces for transgender Texans.
- After years of failed attempts to pass such limits, conservative lawmakers in the summer's second special session ushered through bathroom restrictions that are more extensive than previous so-called bathroom bills.
The latest: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 8 Monday. It takes effect Dec. 4.
State of play: The law requires people in government-owned buildings, including public schools and universities, to use certain facilities based on sex assigned at birth.
- It affects restrooms, locker rooms, shower rooms and changing rooms. And it limits the family violence shelters, prisons and jails that trans people can be placed into.
Context: Bathroom bills have circulated at the Texas Capitol for more than a decade. Since 2017, the Senate has advanced six different versions that stalled in the House.
- After Abbott added the issue to his agenda for the summer special sessions — and following tense House hearings — Texas now joins 19 other states with similar measures.
Threat level: A last-minute amendment from Rep. Steve Toth (R-Conroe) raised fines to $25,000 per violation — and $125,000 for subsequent violations — making SB 8 the most financially punitive bathroom bill in the nation, per the Texas Tribune.
Between the lines: Enforcement is still fuzzy. Agencies must take "every reasonable step," but it's unclear what that will entail.
What they're saying: "This is just common sense," Abbott said in a video on X of him signing the bill.
- "When it comes to the dignity, privacy and safety of Texas women and girls — there is no compromise," state Rep. Angelia Orr (R-Itasca) Orr said as the bill neared Abbott's desk, per KERA. "This is completely non-negotiable."
The other side: Opponents argue the law is unnecessary and that it fuels harassment of transgender and cisgender people falsely accused of entering the wrong facility.
- "By signing SB 8, Governor Abbott has cemented one of the most intrusive and discriminatory policies in Texas law. This bill fuels stigma, harassment, and humiliation for transgender Texans, especially children, who are simply trying to go about their daily lives," Texas Freedom Network political director Rocío Fierro-Pérez said in a statement.
- "I am devastated to see this atrocious legislation pass," Emmett Schelling, executive director of the Transgender Education Network of Texas, said in a statement. "They can try as hard as they want, nobody will ever shatter the trans community or take away our deep and innate understanding of who we genuinely are."
The big picture: Texas lawmakers filed more anti-trans bills during this year's regular legislative session than in any previous year.
- Other measures taking effect this month include new state definitions of "man" and "woman," plus new requirements for medical records and insurance coverage.