AUSTIN — The Senate Committee on State Affairs late Friday approved a so-called "bathroom bill" that would restrict the restrooms available for use to transgender people in the state of Texas.

Senate Bill 3 was approved by a vote of 8-1, with Laredo Democrat Judith Zaffirini in opposition. Sen. Eddie Lucio, D-Brownsville, voted with the Republican majority on the panel to advance the legislation to the full Senate, which will likely take up the bill next week.

The vote came after nearly 11 hours of public testimony on the bill, the vast majority of which was in opposition. Those who spoke called the legislation discriminatory, hateful, un-Christian and bad for Texas business.

City officials raised concerns they'd lose conventions and sporting events if it was passed, and parents of transgender kids said the bill put their children in harm's way. The National Episcopal Church sent a representative to convey its opposition.

None of that swayed the panel's nine members, who voted the same way they did in March, the first time a bathroom bill was debated in front of the Senate committee.

Lucio, who is conservative on social issues, and the bill's author Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, promised to amend the legislation on the Senate floor after taking into account some concerns raised Friday. It was unclear what changes would be made.

Ethan Avanzino was one of the dozens of transgender Texans who showed up to speak. The legislation being debated by the committee was discriminatory, he said, and put the trans community in danger. He believes that, he concluded, because he is "a transgender man of faith. ... What questions do you have for me?" he asked.

Sen. José Menéndez, D-San Antonio, paused, not realizing the man sitting before him was transgender. Menéndez, who does not serve on the committee, was sitting in to hear the debate.

"So if any law were passed that would force you to comply with the law would mean that you would have to walk into a women's bathroom," said Menéndez, eyebrows raised. "Just from looking at you, it seems like that might cause a problem, don't you think?"

Avanzino laughed, and said, "Yes, my hairy chest and legs would cause quite a stir."

The crowd tittered. Avanzino smirked.

1 / 9Trenton Johnson (right) jokes with Ethan Avanzino as they stood in line early Friday morning to voice their opposition to the bathroom bill at a Senate State Affairs Committee public hearing at the capitol.(Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer) 2 / 9People stand in line to voice their opinions on the bathroom bill at a public hearing on the fourth day of a special legislative session on Friday, July 21, 2017 at the Texas state capitol in Austin, Texas. (Ashley Landis/The Dallas Morning News)(Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer) 3 / 9People stand in line to voice their opinions on the bathroom bill at a public hearing on the fourth day of a special legislative session on Friday, July 21, 2017 at the Texas state capitol in Austin, Texas. (Ashley Landis/The Dallas Morning News)(Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer) 4 / 9Jonathan Saenz, center, president of Texas Values, hands out signs as people stand in line to voice their opinions on the bathroom bill at a public hearing on the fourth day of a special legislative session on Friday, July 21, 2017 at the Texas state capitol in Austin, Texas. (Ashley Landis/The Dallas Morning News)(Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer) 5 / 9Ashley Jonte Boucher, left, and Jeannot Jonte Boucher, second from left, of Grand Prairie, Texas and others sign up to voice their opinions on the bathroom bill at a public hearing on the fourth day of a special legislative session on Friday, July 21, 2017 at the Texas state capitol in Austin, Texas. (Ashley Landis/The Dallas Morning News)(Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer) 6 / 9People stand in line to voice their opinions on the bathroom bill at a public hearing on the fourth day of a special legislative session on Friday, July 21, 2017 at the Texas state capitol in Austin, Texas. (Ashley Landis/The Dallas Morning News)(Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer) 7 / 9Ashley Smith, left, and New Hope Mayor Jess Herbst, who are both transgender, stand at the front of the line to voice their opinions on the bathroom bill at a public hearing on the fourth day of a special legislative session on Friday, July 21, 2017 at the Texas state capitol in Austin, Texas. (Ashley Landis/The Dallas Morning News)(Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer) 8 / 9Senator Lois Kolkhorst, author of SB3, otherwise known as the bathroom bill, explains her bill to the Senate State Affairs Committee during a public hearing on the fourth day of a special legislative session on Friday, July 21, 2017 at the Texas state capitol in Austin, Texas. At right is Senator Jane Nelson. (Ashley Landis/The Dallas Morning News)(Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer) 9 / 9Senator Jose Rodriguez, right, asks questions to Senator Lois Kolkhorst, not pictured, author of SB3, otherwise known as the bathroom bill, during a Senate State Affairs Committee public hearing on the fourth day of a special legislative session on Friday, July 21, 2017 at the Texas state capitol in Austin, Texas. At right is Senator Jane Nelson. (Ashley Landis/The Dallas Morning News)(Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer)

An employee of Southwest Airlines and a Dallas resident, Avanzino has a low voice and full, cleanly trimmed beard. In the lingo of the LGBT community, he easily "passes" as male. But his birth certificate still says "female."

Under these bathroom bills, he and other masculine trans men would have to use the ladies' restroom in many public buildings. He urged lawmakers not to force him to make that choice; dozens of transgender Texans who followed over the next 11 hours echoed that request.

It was just the fourth day of a special session, legislative overtime called by Gov. Greg Abbott, and the bathroom bill was already drawing a crowd.

Kolkhorst said she authored the bill because she wants to protect the privacy and dignity of Texas women and girls. Men should not be able to compete in women's sports, said Kolkhorst, a former NCAA golfer, and they should stay out of the ladies' room.

Under current high school athletic rules, students are not allowed to compete against students of the opposite sex, regardless of their gender identity. The bill would not change this, nor does it apply to four-year public colleges and universities and therefore won't affect college athletics.

It would force transgender public school students out of multi-stall restrooms that match their gender identity and would require cities and counties to ensure public building restrooms are restricted by sex based on the user's birth certificate. Individuals who break the rules would not face penalties or arrest, but the attorney general could sue any political subdivision found to be violating the law.

Private businesses would not be covered by the bill, but many city officials believe their convention centers and stadiums would have to restrict restroom use whether they're used by the government or leased by private organizations like the Dallas Cowboys.

"We're here today because Texas has a tradition of taking care of these issues and not being dictated to by the federal government," Kolkhorst said in her opening statement. "We must look at, for all people, the safety, privacy and dignity of our students."

Ask a girl "if it's fair that a boy decides to play in her sport," she added. "Ask a woman how safe she feels when a man appears in a restroom."

Because he is transgender, Avanzino would be one of those men.

1 / 6Michele Pettigrew sheds tears as she listens to an interfaith prayer service in a hospitality room for people who opposed the bathroom bill at a public hearing on the fourth day of a special legislative session at the Texas state capitol in Austin.(Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer) 2 / 6Rev. Marisol Caballero of Austin leads a prayer during an interfaith prayer service in a hospitality room for people who opposed the bathroom bill at a public hearing on the fourth day of a special legislative session on Friday, July 21, 2017 at the Texas state capitol in Austin, Texas. (Ashley Landis/The Dallas Morning News)(Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer) 3 / 6Rev. Dr. Neil G. Cazares, senior pastor at the Cathedral of Hope in Dallas, leads an interfaith prayer in a gathering room for people who came to the capitol to voice their opinions on the bathroom bill at a public hearing on the fourth day of a special legislative session on Friday, July 21, 2017 at the Texas state capitol in Austin, Texas. (Ashley Landis/The Dallas Morning News)(Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer) 4 / 6Clergy member Kimberley Shappley, left, of Pearland, Texas prays with Pascha Morgan of Copperas Cove, Texas after an interfaith prayer service in a hospitality room for people who came to speak against the bathroom bill at a public hearing on the fourth day of a special legislative session on Friday, July 21, 2017 at the Texas state capitol in Austin, Texas. (Ashley Landis/The Dallas Morning News)(Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer) 5 / 6Libby Gonzales, 7, who is transgender, stands with her father, Frank Gonzales, as he speaks to protestors rallying against the bathroom bill in the capitol extension on the fourth day of a special legislative session on Friday, July 21, 2017 at the Texas state capitol in Austin, Texas. (Ashley Landis/The Dallas Morning News)(Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer) 6 / 6Siobhan Cooke of Nacogdoches, Texas and Mark Jiminez of Dallas are among protestors rallying against the bathroom bill on the fourth day of a special legislative session on Friday, July 21, 2017 at the Texas state capitol in Austin, Texas. (Ashley Landis/The Dallas Morning News)(Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer)

It's unclear how the committee will vote on these two bills. Its members could wait until Saturday to do so, when they meet to take up pending business. The last time this committee considered similar legislation back in March, more than 1,800 people gathered at the Capitol to make their position known. More than 86 percent opposed the legislation.

The legislation died after failing to receive a hearing in the House. Abbott then added it to a list of 20 issues he expected lawmakers to considered during the special session that kicked off Tuesday.

On Friday, the committee heard testimony from the businesses, convention and visitors bureaus and chambers of commerce, which overwhelmingly opposed the bill and warned it would hurt the Texas brand. They heard from teachers and school district and city officials, such as San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg, who brought a letter from his police chief stating the bathroom bill is unnecessary.

They heard from parents of transgender children who worried the bill would expose their children to discrimination in school, as well as transgender veterans like Sierra Davis, who lives in Austin.

"When I left the Marine Corps, I didn't think I'd have to fight for my right to pee in safety," said Davis, who had tattoos of the American and Texas flags peeking out from the sleeve of her black dress.

Amy Litzinger addressed the senators from her wheelchair, speaking against the bathroom bill because it doesn't exempt caregivers who may need to enter opposite-sex restrooms to assist their clients.

"Not only do you have to be willing to do this job," said Litzinger, whose caregiver is transgender. "Not only do you have to be willing to take the pay, but you have to be the gender of the person you're working for.

"I'm just really worried."

The committee also heard from a comparatively small number of supporters, including representatives from the Texas Pastors Council. Jennifer Delgado, a mother of three, said she believed "therapy could resolve" or cure being transgender.

"Safety in bathrooms is a real issue," Delgado said. "Allowing biological males in women's restrooms is tantamount to abuse."

Bathroom bills have had a tougher time passing in the House, where Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, has expressed concern they would hurt Texas businesses and increase the stigma on the transgender community.

Two much narrower pieces of legislation have been filed in Straus' chamber by Carrollton Republican Ron Simmons, but neither have been debated yet.