After years of failed attempts, the Texas House has finally passed Senate Bill 8, dubbed the Texas Women’s Privacy Act, following hours of heated debate.
The legislation requires state agencies and political subdivisions to designate multiple-occupancy restrooms, locker rooms, changing rooms, and other private facilities for use only by individuals of the same biological sex. Supporters say the measure is necessary to ensure the safety and privacy of women and girls in public spaces.
Efforts to pass the bill stretch back to 2017, when then-Speaker Joe Straus refused to allow it to reach the House floor. Since then, the Senate has advanced similar legislation several times—including three times this year—but the measure repeatedly stalled in the lower chamber.
During the regular session, House State Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Ken King blocked it from receiving a hearing. The legislation only resurfaced after Gov. Greg Abbott placed it on the special session agenda.
Though State Rep. Valoree Swanson (R–Spring) has repeatedly filed legislation on the issue, House leadership tapped State Rep. Angelia Orr (R–Itasca) to sponsor the bill this session.
“There will be no question that the emphasis is on providing girls and women with an expectation of safe and secure spaces. It’s even more incumbent on government to codify these protections … in spaces where there cannot be an alternative option provided by the free market, such as a county courthouse, a public school, a prison, or even our state Capitol,” said Orr.
As filed, agencies and political subdivisions that violate the law would face fines of $5,000 for a first violation and $25,000 for subsequent ones. Both the attorney general and private citizens are authorized to bring enforcement actions against violators.
An amendment added by State Rep. Steve Toth (R–The Woodlands) increased those penalties to $25,000 and $125,000 respectively.
The law also requires the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to house inmates according to biological sex and limits family violence shelters’ services to biological females and their children.
Democrats largely and vocally opposed the effort, framing it derogatorily as “the bathroom bill” and warning that private individuals would serve as “potty police” to enforce it.
The measure passed the House by a vote of 86-43. The Senate must now concur with the House changes before it is sent to the governor’s desk.
