Legislation proposes to regulate access to restrooms, locker rooms

State Capital Highlights
By Ed Stirling

AUSTIN — Texas now
has a “bathroom bill.”
The Lone Star State has
joined Alabama, Kentucky,
Minnesota, Missouri,
South Carolina, Virginia
and Washington as states
where legislation has been
filed in an effort to restrict
access to restrooms, locker
rooms and other sex-segregated
facilities on the basis
of sex or gender.
On Jan. 5, Texas Sen. Lois
Kolkhorst, R-Brenham,
filed Senate Bill 6, titled the
Texas Privacy Act. The legislation,
she said, would
address “the personal privacy
concerns of many
Texans.”
The legislation comes
after a May 13, 2016, “joint
guidance” from the U.S.
Departments of Education
and Justice “to help provide
educators the information
they need to ensure that all
students, including transgender
students, can attend
school in an environment
free from discrimination
based on sex.”
Under Title IX of the
Education Amendments of
1972, the federal agencies
said, “schools receiving
federal money may not discriminate
based on a student’s
sex, including a student’s
transgender status.”
The federal agencies signaled
their intent to treat a
student’s gender identity as
the student’s sex for purposes
of enforcing Title IX.
However, last fall, U.S.
District Judge Reed
O’Connor of the Northern
District of Texas granted an
injunction against enforcement
of the federal “guidance.”
The judge ruled that
the injunction applies not
only to Texas, but to all
states.
Kolkhorst termed the
federal agencies’ “guidance”
an “edict.” She said
“the proposal to have boys
and girls potentially showering
and using the same
restroom” alarmed the
public.
“This bill is written not
to begin a controversy, but
to end one,“ said
Kolkhorst. “The Texas
Privacy Act is a thoughtful
solution to a sensitive issue.
It preserves an expected
level of privacy for our
public schools and buildings.
At the same time, it
also allows for schools and
universities to make personal
accommodations for
those requesting an alternate
setting. Senate Bill 6
also allows Texas businesses
to determine their
own policy without government
interference.”
Kolkhorst said SB 6 “is
unique” in that it enhances
penalties for crimes committed
in a bathroom
against any individual,
regardless of their sex or
gender identity.
Opponents of “bathroom
legislation” have argued
that it is unconstitutional
not to accommodate transgender
people and the passage
of such legislation
would result in negative
impacts on business activity.
Pablos takes office
Gov. Greg Abbott on Jan.
5 appointed Rolando
Pablos of El Paso as the
111th secretary of state,
replacing outgoing
Secretary Carlos Cascos.
Pablos, a former utility
regulator, is co-founder
and chief executive officer
of Uriel Americas. Most
recently, he served as chief
executive officer of the
Borderplex Alliance, a binational
economic development
organization based
on the U.S.-Mexico border.
Pablos formerly served as
a member of the Public
Utility Commission of
Texas and the Texas Racing
Commission.
Hegar finishes ports tour
Texas Comptroller Glenn
Hegar on Jan. 4 announced
his completion of a multimonth
travel itinerary that
included visits to six of
Texas’ 29 ports of entry.
“The vitality of Texas’
international trade can be
seen everywhere, from the
Houston Ship Channel, the
nation’s busiest waterway,
to the Laredo port of entry,
whose five international
bridges accommodate
more than 2 million trucks
and 3,600 trains each year,”
Hegar said. “We reap enormous
advantages from
world trade every day, and
for the ports tour my
agency has quantified
those benefits,” he continued.
“We’ve found that Texas
ports of entry accounted
for nearly $650 billion in
international trade in 2015.
In all, that trade supports
nearly 1.6 million Texas
jobs and adds more than
$224 billion to our gross
state product. It’s a vital
part of the economy, and
keeps it an essential destination
for business and
industry,” Hegar added.
Revenue total is reported
Comptroller Hegar on
Jan. 4 announced state
sales tax revenue totaled
$2.44 billion in December,
4.9 percent more than in
December 2015.
“Sales tax revenue
growth was led by collections
from sectors driven
by consumer spending —
retail trade and information
services,“ Hegar said.
“Tax receipts from oil– and
natural gas–related sectors
continued to decline relative
to the previous year.”
Total sales tax revenue
for the three months ending
in December 2016 was
up by 0.6 percent compared
with the same period
a year ago. Sales tax revenue
is the largest source of
state funding for the state
budget, accounting for 58
percent of all tax collections,
Hegar added.