Senate committee approves 'bathroom bill' in early morning vote Controversial measure would flush ordinances from local jurisdictions

Members of the transgender community and others who oppose Senate Bill 6, known as the "bathroom bill," protest in the exterior rotunda at the state Capitol during the Senate State Affairs Committee hearing.﻿ Members of the transgender community and others who oppose Senate Bill 6, known as the "bathroom bill," protest in the exterior rotunda at the state Capitol during the Senate State Affairs Committee hearing.﻿ Photo: Eric Gay, STF Photo: Eric Gay, STF Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Senate committee approves 'bathroom bill' in early morning vote 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

AUSTIN - After nearly a full day of testimony from hundreds of witnesses -- most in opposition -- the controversial "bathroom bill" cleared its first legislative hurdle early Wednesday morning, when the Committee on State Affairs voted 7-1 to recommend the bill to the full chamber.

A high priority of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick's, Senate Bill 6 would require transgender people to use bathrooms in public schools and colleges and government buildings that correspond to their "biological sex" as listed on their birth certificate. It also would prohibit local jurisdictions, like cities and counties, from adopting anti-discrimination ordinances permitting transgender people from using public bathrooms that match their gender identity.

The committee, which consists of two Democrats and seven Republicans, began hearing testimony at 8 a.m. Tuesday and ended with a vote on the measure at 4:50 a.m. Wednesday. The lone no vote was Laredo Sen. Judith Zaffirini, a Democrat. Sen. Eddie Lucio, a Brownsville Democrat who announced his support for the bill Monday, came under harsh criticism from his constituents during the hearing, though he promised to offer amendments when the bill reached the Senate floor.

Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, a Brenham Republican who authored the bill, said her goal is to provide privacy to women. She argued that while the state's criminal code already outlaws assaulting or filming someone in a restroom, no current statewide statute addresses entering an opposite-sex bathroom.

"I'm trying very hard to craft a bill to strike a balance," Kolkhorst said. "If we don't pass this bill, what I think we'll see is a city-after-city patchwork of policy where in some cities there's really no gender identity on restrooms."

A handful of Senate Democrats, including some who did not serve on the committee, sharply criticized Kolkhorst's rationale as a solution in search of a problem. They argued that the bill would segregate and endanger transgender people by forcing them to use public bathrooms designated for the opposite sex.

Sen. Sylvia Garcia, a Harris County Democrat, said Houston already has a local ordinance barring men from entering women's restrooms and vice versa that does not invoke any biological sex or birth certificate requirement.

"It just says you can't enter the bathroom of the opposite sex. If that is what your aim is, why are we doing other things - the pre-emption, referring to biological sex?" Garcia said. "That is what leads to concerns from people in my district that this is discriminatory and targets transgender children."

Panel Democrat backs bill

Lucio's decision effectively allows Patrick, who controls the Senate's calendar, to meet the 19-member threshold he needs to bring the measure to a full chamber vote as early as this week.

The hearing drew large and sustained crowds at the Capitol, including 400 people who signed up to speak for or against the bill. On orders of the committee's chairwoman, Sen. Joan Huffman of Houston, state police closed the meeting room to the general public for part of the day, prompting a Republican senator to question why there were many empty seats at the start. Recently, protesters have shouted, sang and clapped during high-profile Senate committee hearings.

No major outbursts marked the SB6 hearing, however. Transgender rights advocates showed up in droves, some driving hundreds of miles, and held a rally near the hearing room to denounce the bill as an anti-trans measure intended to discriminate against them under the guise of women's privacy.

An estimated 125,000 people in Texas are transgender, making it the state with the second or third largest trans population in the country, said Dr. Colt Keo-Meier, a licensed psychologist who opposed the bill.

Keo-Meier, who transitioned a decade ago, told the committee that SB6 would interfere with his ability to provide medically necessary information and treatment to his patients, all of whom are transgender.

"Quite literally, this bill is killing my patients," he said, adding that he would have to drop out of medical school if the bill becomes law. "I would be banned from using the restroom on campus. If you're saying I can go into the women's restroom, that's the violence we're all trying to prevent."

Business interests vs. bill

Members of prominent conservative groups, who largely are allies of Patrick and the GOP Senate, came out to support the bill, calling it essential to keep young girls and women safe in public places.

Dana Hodges, state director of Concerned Women for America, wept as she told the committee about a phone call she received years ago notifying her that she was covertly recorded undressing in a changing room.

"The camera was hiding in a small white plastic coat hook," she said, adding that she is a rape survivor. "Going through this experience was traumatic. How many more do we not hear about because women don't realize they're being videotaped with their knowledge?"

Opponents of the bill also included several big-city convention and visitor bureau chiefs who said they have heard from organizations that will cancel event contracts and avoid Texas should the bill become law.

"Perception is reality to the people," said Ron Price, the president and CEO of the Arlington Convention and Visitors Bureau. Mike Waterman, the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau president, said, "I will tell you that the economic impact is real."

For months, Republicans have challenged the claim touted by Democrats and Texas' business community that SB6 would damage the Texas economy.

During a heated exchange, Chris Wallace, the Texas Association of Business president, defended his group's public support for a study that reported the state could lose $8.5 billion in GDP and as many as 185,000 jobs should lawmakers approve the bill.

"You have misled the public to a great degree on this study," said Sen. Paul Bettencourt, a Houston Republican. "It's absolutely fake news for the president of the Texas Association of Business to quote a study that has a zero credibility rating."