After years of failed attempts, long-debated legislation to keep men out of women’s private spaces is officially the law in Texas.
Senate Bill 8 by State Sen. Mayes Middleton, dubbed the Texas Women’s Privacy Act, takes effect today and now requires state agencies and political subdivisions to designate multi-occupancy restrooms, locker rooms, changing rooms, and other sex-separated spaces strictly according to biological sex.
The law’s activation marks the culmination of nearly a decade of legislative efforts to secure privacy protections for women and girls in public facilities.
Legislation to protect women’s private spaces had been introduced multiple times since 2017, but was continually killed in the House.
The measure, passed during the August special session after repeated stalemates in the House, includes substantial penalties for violations. Agencies and political subdivisions that fail to comply face fines of $25,000 for a first offense and $125,000 for subsequent violations—an increase adopted on the House floor through an amendment by Republican State Rep. Steve Toth of The Woodlands.
In addition to its facility provisions, the law directs the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to house inmates according to biological sex and limits family violence shelters’ accommodations to biological females and their children.
Gov. Greg Abbott signed the legislation in September, calling it a “common sense public safety issue.”
