House Appeases Dan Patrick by Passing a Bathroom Bill
In hopes of avoiding a special legislative session, House Speaker Joe Straus embraced what might be called Patrick Lite over the weekend—a toned down version of the lieutenant governor’s long promised bathroom bill. The final acquiescence occurred Sunday evening when the House did something Straus had promised would not happen on his watch: approved a bill that addressed who can use what bathroom. Earlier this year, Straus had called Patrick’s premier issue “manufactured and unnecessary,” stating on multiple occasions that he wouldn’t not support the issue. But faced with Patrick’s pledge to force special sessions “again and again and again” until a bathroom bill passed, Straus apparently decided that retreat is the better part of valor.
When the key vote occurred on the bathroom legislation, it passed 91-50. Straus cast a white light on the House voting board—present but not voting. As we noted last week, Straus led the House in opposition to Patrick’s agenda until a small group of lawmakers known as the Freedom Caucus used House rules to kill some must-pass legislation. That gave Patrick the opportunity to demand passage of portions of his agenda.
The Senate version, Senate Bill 6, would restrict bathroom use in public schools, colleges, and government buildings to the gender designated on a birth certificate. The House version, attached as an amendment to Senate Bill 2078—which tackles school districts’ “multihazard emergency operations plans”—is limited to providing private bathrooms in public schools and open enrollment charter schools to children who want to opt out of bathrooms assigned to a specific biological sex.
Amendment sponsor Chris Paddie, a Marshall Republican, said the public school proposal will apply to transgender children, but also to children who are shy or are being bullied. Representative Larry Gonzales of Round Rock noted that it also will cover children with colostomy bags. But Representative Celia Israel, a Democrat from Austin, said there is no doubt that the legislation was a different version of the Senate’s controversial bathroom bill. “We’re getting rolled by the Senate,” Israel said.
Read more: http://www.texasmonthly.com/burka-blog/house-appeases-dan-patrick-passing-bathroom-bill/
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