Texas Republicans hijack special legislative session for deadly floods to push anti-trans bill

After deadly floods devastated parts of Texas at the beginning of July, lawmakers have been called back for special legislative session to address the disaster – as well as discuss a bill about which toilet trans Texans can use.

Yep, priorities are clearly in order in the Lone Star state.

Governor Gregg Abbott initially called for a special legislative session in June to tackle six bills he vetoed during the regular session, including a bill centred on banning the sale of hemp products containing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

However, on 4 July flash floods battered parts the state and left at least 134 people dead and more than 100 missing.

As a result, the focus of the special legislative session – which will begin on Monday (21 July) – turned to disaster preparedness including legislation to “to improve early warning systems” and “strengthen emergency communications”.

Alongside agenda points about disaster prevention, the Special Session of the 89th Legislature will also consider an anti-trans bill that is worded as legislation “protecting women’s privacy in sex-segregated spaces”.

Monday (14 July) marked the first day lawmakers could file bills for the special session and – as NBC News reported, citing its Austin affiliate, KXAN-TV – of the 82 bills filed, none were related to the floods.

House Bill 32, known as the Texas Women’s Privacy Act, was amongst the measures.

Introduced by Republican representative Valoree Swanson, the bill would require transgender people to use the toilet that correspond to their birth sex in public schools, government buildings and correctional facilities.

If it becomes law, public entities which violate the measure could face financial penalties of up to $5,000 (£3,722) for the first infraction and up to $25,000 (£18,663) for the second or a subsequent violation, as well as subject to civil lawsuits.

“A political subdivision or state agency shall ensure each multiple-occupancy private space in a building the political subdivision or state agency owns, operates, or controls is designated for and used only by individuals of the same biological sex,” the bill reads.

In a post shared to its official Instagram account, the Transgender Education Network of Texas wrote: “Texas leadership has made their opinion loud and clear – they do not believe trans people have the right to call Texas home.”