The Brief
The Texas House passed a bill regarding the bathrooms used by transgender people.
A last-minute amendment increased the fines for violators by five.
The bill now needs one more procedural vote in the House before heading to the Senate.
AUSTIN - The Texas House has passed a bill that would bar transgender people from using bathrooms in government buildings that align with their gender identities.
The version passed on Thursday differs from the one sent by the Senate, in that it multiplies the fines for places that violate the law by five.
‘Bathroom bill’ passes House
The latest
Senate Bill 8 was amended Thursday, with the new provision being presented by Rep. Steve Toth (R-Conroe).
According to the Texas Tribune, the last-minute measure raises the proposed fines for violators from $5,000 to $25,000 for first offenses, and from $25,000 to $125,000 for following violations. The bill's text says each day counts as a separate violation.
The amendment, which was adopted without debate, makes SB 8 the most financially punitive bathroom bill in the nation, according to the Tribune.
After the amendment was passed, the House passed the bill with a vote of 86 to 43, with one present but not voting.
House heats up over bathroom bill
The backstory
SB 8 would require individuals in schools and government buildings to use a bathroom that coincides with their biological sex. It would also limit what family violence shelters, prisons and jails that transgender people can be placed into.
While fines would be set for places in violation of the law, individuals would not be penalized.
SB8 also allows the state's attorney general to investigate claims of violation.
During a public hearing in the House Committee on State Affairs, lawmakers and citizens clashed over the proposition.
One representative in opposition of the bill said it was "like filing a ban on Bigfoot," saying there have been no incidents in bathrooms since the last attempt at a bathroom bill eight years ago.
Proponents of the bill claim they've witnessed transgender people using the "wrong" bathroom, and others denied the existence of transgender people altogether.
What's next
The bill needs one more vote in the House before going back to the Senate as amended.
If passed, it will be sent to Gov. Greg Abbott's desk to be considered for law.
Lawmakers have until Sept. 13 to approve special session legislation.
Abortion pill bounty hunting
Dig deeper
Along with SB 8, House Bill 7 was passed by the House. The bill is targeted at the production and use of abortion-inducing drugs.
HB 7 would incentivize bounty hunting, allowing people to bring $100,000 lawsuits against anyone who makes, sends, or transports abortion medication, no matter their location.
The pregnant person cannot be sued.
Blair Wallace, policy and advocacy strategist on reproductive freedom at the ACLU of Texas, said the following of the proposal:
"H.B. 7 exports Texas’ extreme abortion ban far beyond state borders. It will fuel fear among manufacturers and providers nationwide, while encouraging neighbors to police one another’s reproductive lives, further isolating pregnant Texans, and punishing the people who care for them. We believe in a Texas where people have the freedom to make decisions about our own bodies and futures."
The Source
Information in this report came from Texas Legislature Online, the ACLU of Texas and previous FOX reporting.
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