AUSTIN — In an unprecedented vote, a House committee on Wednesday approved two bills to prohibit housing and employment discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.

Dallas Republican Rep. Jason Villalba split with his party and provided the tie-breaking vote for both bills, which passed the House Committee on Business and Industry 4-3. Democrats have pushed these measures for years without success.

While the bills still have very far to go before they could be signed into law, Villalba said it was time Republicans begin to agree on the need to extend greater rights to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Texans.

"It was time for people from all across the political spectrum to acknowledge that LGBT citizens from the great state of Texas are Texans," Villalba told The Dallas Morning News after the vote. "Will other Republicans follow my lead? I doubt it, but the time has come."

House Bill 225 by Eric Johnson, D-Dallas, would prohibit businesses from discriminating against employees because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. House Bill 192, by San Antonio Democrat Diego Bernal, would make it illegal to refuse to sell or rent housing to someone because they're LGBT.

The panel also passed Johnson's House Bill 290, the so-called "equal pay" bill, which would require women to be paid the same as male colleagues who perform "substantially similar work." That measure was approved by a 4-1 vote, with Bedford Republican Jonathan Stickland voting against.

Rep. Hugh Shine, R-Temple, voted for the equal pay bill and Reps. Villalba and Paul Workman, R-Austin, were absent. Shine, Stickland and Workman voted against the two pro-LGBT bills.

1 / 2 State Rep. Eric Johnson, shown here holding his son William, authored a bill that passed committee for the first time on May 3, 2017 that would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. (Courtesy Eric Johnson) 2 / 2Rep. Jason Villalba, R-Dallas, broke with his party to vote for two pro-LGBT bills on May 3, 2017.

Johnson, who has authored the employment discrimination bill before, said this is the most progress his bill has ever made. Speaking to The News this week, Johnson said he continued to push the measure because "it's the last frontier of civil rights."

"It bothers me that there's this form of bigotry that's accepted, and I don't want to associate with it," he said. "Why wouldn't I try to correct an obvious injustice like this?"

The vote was especially notable this session, as lawmakers battle over whether to define "man" and "woman" in state law or legislate what restrooms transgender people can use. While several large cities have passed laws banning housing and employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, no statewide law prohibits a business owner from firing an employee because they are gay or refusing to rent to a transgender resident.

"Everyone deserves an equal chance to succeed in life, and when it comes to employment decisions, people should be judged solely on their capabilities and job performance," Johnson said. "Texas state law already protects workers from discrimination based on what goes on in their private life with respect to religion. If someone can't be fired because of whether or where they worship, then they shouldn't be able to be fired because of who they love or how they identify."

Both Johnson and Bernal's bills head to the Calendars committee, which could vote to bring them to the full House for a vote or let them quietly die in the final three weeks of the session.

Bernal thanked Villalba for throwing his support behind the bills, noting neither could have passed without the support of at least one Republican on the committee. Stickland, meanwhile, opined, "Villalba has lost his mind."

When asked whether he was concerned about the political fallout he might experience for his support, Villalba scoffed.

"I'll run again," he told The News. "And if anyone wants to challenge me because of my position on this, I say, 'Bring it on.' "