Some in and around the Texas Capitol fear House leadership is trying to quietly kill legislation that bans the social gender transitioning of minors.
Questions about the legislative process are at the center of a battle over a measure filed by State Rep. Steve Toth (R–Conroe). House Bill 2258, the Vulnerable Youth Protection Act, would create a civil liability on individuals who cause or contribute to the social transitioning of a minor.
The legislation has been sent by Speaker Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock) to the House Committee on State Affairs, a move that some are arguing could be an attempt to stall its progress.
HB 2258 defines “social transitioning” as any act by which a child adopts a gender identity different from their biological sex, including changes in clothing, pronouns, hairstyle, and name. The bill would establish strict civil liability for individuals or entities facilitating social transitioning or medical gender treatments for minors.
Under the proposed legislation, individuals could face a minimum of $10,000 in statutory damages per violation and punitive damages of at least $10 million if irreversible procedures result in sterilization or other permanent harm. Enforcement would be left exclusively to private citizens, barring state and local governments from direct action.
Cindi Castilla, president of Texas Eagle Forum, emphasized the legislation’s importance in “protecting children from the transgender agenda.”
“We need to do everything we can to keep children from moving toward treatments and procedures that destroy their natural body and often cause sterilization, which dramatically and negatively impacts their future,” Castilla told Texas Scorecard. She added that those harmed by these procedures must be able to recover damages, including punitive damages, as a deterrent against “body butchers mutilating Texas children.”
Christin Bentley, an East Texas mom who leads the Republican Party of Texas’ legislative effort to Stop Sexualizing Texas Kids, sees the legislation as an extension of previous efforts to ban gender mutilation procedures on minors.
“The Vulnerable Youth Protection Act, HB 2258, is model legislation that expands upon Texas’ ban on pediatric sex change by safeguarding vulnerable Texas children from being taken out of the state for such procedures. It also prohibits the social transition of minors, an act rooted in harmful ideology rather than science,” Bentley said.
She noted that the legislation has support from both state and national groups, including the Republican Party of Texas. However, she criticized the decision to send the bill to State Affairs. “While disappointing, it is not surprising to see it referred to the House Committee on State Affairs, where it will be an uphill battle to even have it heard,” she said.
The decision to refer HB 2258 to State Affairs instead of the Public Health Committee, which has jurisdiction over the Texas Health and Safety Code, has raised concerns among some activists.
The State Affairs Committee has wide jurisdiction and acts as a sort of “catch-all” for hot-button subjects. Given this, the committee is often flooded with legislation, much of which will never even get a hearing. As of publication, State Rep. Ken King (R–Canadian), who chairs the committee, did not respond to a request for comment on his plans to hold a hearing on the bill.
Bentley, meanwhile, is urging Toth to challenge the referral. She has also called on Speaker Burrows to prioritize legislation protecting children from “the immeasurable harm of pediatric sex change.”
HB 2258 comes amid growing national and state concerns over social transitioning in schools. A recent controversy at Bellaire High School in Houston has brought national attention to the issue.
Earlier this year, a mother at the school claimed that teachers had begun addressing her daughter by a different name and pronouns without informing the family, and that a teacher even crossed out the student’s legal name on a paper and replaced it with her preferred name. The mother’s complaints to teachers, counselors, and the principal were ignored.
In response, Abbott called for the Texas Education Agency to investigate the incident.
