Updated at 4:45 p.m. CDT Thursday: This story has been updated with reaction from key lawmakers and the Texas Association of Business and to include the bill's amended language.

Updated at 6:05 p.m. CDT Friday: This story has been updated with reaction from the Dallas Cowboys spokesman.

AUSTIN — House lawmakers will debate a so-called "bathroom bill" next week that supporters hope will be less worrisome to business interests concerned the measure could hurt the Texas economy.

The decision to debate the House bill, and to set aside a more severe version passed last month in the Senate, marks the latest split the two chambers have endured during a particularly divided legislative session. The House bill will probably get the backing of the Dallas Cowboys, their lobbyist said, but the state's largest business group is withholding its support at this time.

"It's a bill that's trying to strike a balance between all the interested parties," Rep. Ron Simmons, the bill's sponsor, told The Dallas Morning News on Thursday. "It's our belief that discrimination issues related to privacy should be handled at the state level."

Last month, the Senate passed a measure that would restrict restroom access in schools and government buildings based on biological sex, a measure business groups and major companies have decried as discriminatory and bad for Texas' economy. The House has set aside that bill, for now, in favor of their own version Simmons said he hopes "everyone can agree on."

House Bill 2899 will be debated in the State Affairs Committee on Wednesday. The amended bill would ban cities, school districts and any other "political subdivisions" from passing local laws that protect certain people from discrimination in an intimate space. This would render local nondiscrimination ordinances that protect the rights of transgender people to use bathrooms that match their gender identity unenforceable.

"Except in accordance with federal and state law," the bill's language reads, "a political subdivision, including school districts, may not enforce an order, ordinance, or other measure to protect a class of persons from discrimination to the extent that the order, ordinance, or other measure regulates access to multiple-occupancy restrooms, showers, or changing facilities."

While the language isn't an exact match, Simmons bill looks quite a bit like the revised bathroom law recently passed in North Carolina. Both ban local governments from regulating use and access of restrooms, changing rooms and locker rooms.

Unlike the North Carolina law, Simmons' measure would not affect colleges campuses. It also would not restrict bathroom use based on biological sex, which the Senate Bill does. The House bill is co-sponsored by Republican Reps. Dustin Burrows of Lubbock, Cole Hefner of Mount Pleasant, Jodie Laubenberg of Parker, Valoree Swanson of Spring and Terry Wilson of Marble Falls.

If Texas passed a bathroom bill this year, it would become the second state in the nation, after North Carolina, to do so. About 16 states have considered similar legislation this year.

1 / 5A woman sat with her sign in the overflow room as members of the Senate State Affairs Committee debated and heard public testimony on Senate Bill 6, the transgender bathroom bill, at the Texas State Capitol in Austin on March 7. The bill would bar transgender people from using the restrooms, locker and changing rooms that correspond to their gender identity in public schools and government buildings.(Rose Baca / Staff Photographer) 2 / 5John Erler, dressed as Moses, holds signs as members of the Senate State Affairs Committee debated and heard public testimony on Senate Bill 6, the transgender bathroom bill, at the Texas State Capitol in Austin on March 7. The bill would bar transgender people from using the restrooms, locker and changing rooms that correspond to their gender identity in public schools and government buildings. (Rose Baca/The Dallas Morning News)(Staff Photographer) 3 / 5People waited in the sign-up line to give a testimony as members of the Senate State Affairs Committee debated and heard public testimony of Senate Bill 6, the transgender bathroom bill, at the Texas State Capitol in Austin on March 7. (Rose Baca/The Dallas Morning News)(Staff Photographer) 4 / 5Members of the transgender community took part in a rally on the steps of the Texas Capitol on March 6. The group opposes a "bathroom bill" that would require people to use public bathrooms and restrooms that correspond with the sex on their birth certificate. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)(AP) 5 / 5Max Briggle (right) held a sign as he joined other members of the transgender community during a rally on the steps of the Texas Capitol on March 6. The group opposes a "bathroom bill" that would require people to use public bathrooms and restrooms that correspond with the sex on their birth certificate. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)(AP)

The fact that Simmons' legislation appears similar to North Carolina's law could be an issue for business, said Texas Association of Business president Chris Wallace, who added that his organization doesn't think the laws passed there "are right for Texas."

"We remain focused on stopping discriminatory legislation and keeping Texas open for business and inviting for all," Wallace said. The TAB is still looking at the House bill, but was "focused on defeating" the Senate version "and other discriminatory legislation," he said.

But Simmons' proposal is likely to get the backing of at least one high-profile supporter: the Dallas Cowboys. Lobbyist Bill Miller said the Cowboys organization, a client of his, would probably be OK with the bill as long as the NFL and NCAA say "it's no harm, no foul."

"It's likely that we'll be supportive of that bill," Miller said Thursday. "It doesn't cross the line with us."

On Friday, Cowboys spokesman Rich Dalrymple declined to comment on Miller's statements.

The organization is likely more amenable to Simmons' bill for the same reason TAB is withholding its support: The bill looks like North Carolina's newly revised bathroom law.

That state's original bathroom legislation, passed a year ago, restricted bathroom use based on the biological sex found on one's birth certificate. In response, multiple companies canceled expansion plans, the NCAA rescheduled major events and celebrities boycotted.

After a year and nearly $4 billion in lost business revenue, the state changed course. This month, North Carolina repealed the original bathroom law and replaced it with one that bars cities, public schools, colleges and state agencies from instituting any regulations on restroom use that don't conform to state law. It also bans local governments from passing nondiscrimination ordinances regulating private employment practices or public accommodations until 2020.

The NCAA warily reversed its boycott as a result, an outcome the NFL, NBA and other major sporting organizations likely noted. Politicians across the state, including North Carolina's newly elected Democratic governor, lauded the new law as a much-needed compromise.

But LGBT advocates and civil right groups nationwide decried it as a lukewarm replacement that kept in place the old law's worst aspects. Texas' proposal is no different, House Democratic Caucus Chairm Chris Turner said Thursday.

"Texas doesn't need a bathroom bill," Turner said. "Any legislation that strikes down local anti-discrimination ordinances is inherently discriminatory, an attack on local control and harmful to the Texas economy."

The move to skip debate on the Senate's version in favor of Simmons' bill is the latest jab thrown by the House this session, which has been marked by infighting between the chambers over the state's top priorities.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who heads the Senate, has made passing his chamber's bathroom bill one of his primary concerns. He contends the measure is meant to protect the privacy of women and girls in public facilities. House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, has criticized Patrick's zeal, calling the issue "manufactured" and a threat to Texas' business prospects.

State Affairs Committee Chairman Byron Cook made the decision to hold debate on Simmons' bill. In the past, he's echoed Straus' concerns that the legislation seems to be a solution in search of a problem. Last month, he said there's "no evidence" Texas needs a bathroom bill.

But on Thursday, Cook said the House bill was the "appropriate" approach "for the issue before us."

"It's important that we contemplate the right kind of balance that speaks to the privacy issue and also ensures that we don't do something that has a chilling effect on business," Cook said. "What I'm hopeful is that this legislation will end up being something that people can be for, which I think is important."

Asked about the Texas Association of Business' choice not to throw their support behind the bill at this time, Cook said, "I think what you'll find is that the business community will be supportive of what Mr. Simmons has put forward."

It is unclear whether Straus helped Simmons craft his bill or encouraged Cook to hold a hearing. Straus' office did not respond to requests for comment about his involvement, and Cook declined to elaborate.