The Latest Gambit to Save the Bathroom Bill
Texas House Speaker Joe Straus and some of his lieutenants have been promoting the idea that the House is where bathroom bills come to die. But on Tuesday, social conservative Republicans are expected to try to breathe some life into the controversial issue by adding an amendment to the legislation extending the life of the state agency that regulates oil and gas.
No, the Texas Railroad Commission would not suddenly become the regulator of intra-state bodily emissions pipelines. The amendment merely would require the agency to restrict gender access to restrooms under its control to the gender listed on a person’s birth certificate. (UPDATE: Straus ruled the amendment was not germane to the bill and would not allow the House to debate it.)
Since the start of the legislative session, Straus has been signaling that the House is unlikely to debate Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick’s Senate Bill 6 that would limit bathroom access in all government buildings by the gender on a person’s birth certificate. In an interview last Friday with University of Texas political science professor James Henson, Straus called the bill “contrived” and said there was “no fervor” for it in the House, though he admitted it might pass if it was pushed on the members. Straus went on to say he personally opposes the bill. “Count me as a no.”
Many major businesses and the LGBT community oppose the bill as discriminatory against transgender persons. The Senate two weeks ago approved what its sponsors are calling the Texas Privacy Act by a 21-10 margin.
Read more: http://www.texasmonthly.com/burka-blog/latest-gambit-save-bathroom-bill/
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