It's time for the Texas House to kill the pandering, unnecessary "bathroom bill" that has been dropped in its lap, like an overfull diaper, by the irresponsible Senate. Fortunately, there is every reason to believe the House is up to the challenge.

Speaker Joe Straus called the bill unnecessary even before the Legislature convened in January. And on Thursday, Republican Byron Cook of Coriscana, who chairs the State Affairs committee to which the bill is assigned, doubled-down on that sentiment: "We've never seen an issue that would indicate there's a need to address a bathroom bill.... There's no evidence of a problem."

Cook's candor is welcome, and a good sign that the House will act wisely going forward.

The Senate bill, approved Tuesday 21-10 along mostly party lines, purports to solve a problem that does not exist. In so doing, it exposes Texas to clear and unnecessary economic losses. It also is openly discriminatory toward transgender men, women and children.

Senate Bill 6 would require public schools, universities, and other public entities to formally restrict the use of their bathrooms according to the user's "biological sex," whether they are among the more than 1 million transgender Americans or not. Among other provisions, it would also forbid cities or counties from adopting any policies aimed at seeking a kinder, wiser policy.

This is unnecessary. The actual incidents of transgender use of bathrooms causing trouble are exceedingly rare. Existing criminal laws already prohibit, and punish, any harassment or harm of the kind the bill's supporters say they worry about.

The Economist has likened the drama in Austin to the Star Wars movie, "The Phantom Menace." It's time now for the House to cancel this film.

Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, the Brenham Republican who is the bill's sponsor, insisted Tuesday that lawmakers must set the local bathroom policy for every public entity in the state. "I think it is incumbent upon us to give guidance," she said.

Kolkhorst should know, of course, that "guidance" backed up by steep penalties for any deviation, such as the ones contained in her bill, quickly turns to coercion.

The bill should be resisted. Matched against the phantom dangers it purports to save us from are very real economic consequences that its passage will impose on Texans.

In other states, from Arizona to North Carolina, similar measures have prompted stark reactions from businesses that know that discrimination is bad for their bottom lines.

In North Carolina, a similar bill prompted companies and organizations to dis-invest from the state once it became law, costing local economies tens of millions of dollars or more. Anti-gay measures in Indiana and Arizona also brought strong rebukes from the business community. In both cases, Republican governors either worked to modify the law once it passed, or in the case of Arizona, vetoed it.

Now it's Texas' turn. The Senate has made its mind up. House must speak. Its most eloquent response will be to flush this stinker of a bill.

The economic fallout

States that passed anti-LGBT bills took some big hits, even after stopping the measures.

Arizona: A bill allowing businesses to deny service to gays passed the Senate and House in 2014. The NFL threatened to move the Super Bowl, and others canceled conventions and travel plans. The governor vetoed the bill, but Arizona still lost an estimated $140 million in business.

Indiana: A law allowing businesses to deny service to gays was adopted in 2015, and companies promptly canceled expansion plans, some governments banned travel to the state, and investors threatened to pull investments. While legislators soon amended the law to protect LGBT people, Indiana lost an estimated $1.5 billion in conventions and meetings.

North Carolina: A bathroom bill was adopted in 2016, restricting transgender people to certain bathrooms and banning cities' nondiscrimination ordinances. The NBA, NCAA and ACC moved sporting events, entertainers canceled concerts, and several companies abandoned expansion plans. The state has lost an estimated $630 million in business since March.

SOURCE: Texas Association of Business