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Texas Lawmakers Head Home Without Vote On Bathroom Bill

By Michelle Casady Law360, Houston (August 16, 2017, 3:22 PM EDT) -- A special legislative session called for by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ended Tuesday without the House passing what opponents — including law firms and Texas Fortune 500 companies — have called an anti-transgender “bathroom bill,” but that doesn't mean the bill's fate has been sealed. The Texas Privacy Act , commonly referred to as the bathroom bill, would have required people to use the restroom, shower or changing facility that corresponds with the sex listed on their birth certificates and not the facility corresponding with their gender identity. Lieutenant Gov. Dan Patrick named the bill as one of his top 10 legislative priorities after Sen. Lois Kolkhorst introduced the bill in January. Kolkhorst said at the time it was meant to counteract a directive from the Obama administration that let children use the school bathroom that matches their gender identity. According to the Legislative Reference Libr...

Texas 'bathroom bills' stall in special legislative session

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Reuters By Jon Herskovitz AUSTIN, Texas, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Texas measures to restrict access for transgender people to bathrooms in schools and public buildings appear doomed after moderate Republican powerbrokers blocked the bills and hundreds of businesses opposed them. The so-called " bathroom bills " have caused rifts among Republicans who control the state's legislature, leaving no likely path to passage before a 30- day special session wraps on Wednesday, analysts and lawmakers said on Monday. Enactment in Texas, the most populous Republican -dominated state, could give momentum to other socially conservative states for additional action on an issue that has become a flashpoint in the U.S. culture wars. But House Speaker Joe Straus , a pro- business Republican who controls the agenda in the body, has shown little interest in passing a bathroom bill, which he said was not a priority. On Monday, opponents ...