Lawmakers double down on LGBTQ+ policies ahead of next Texas session

The Texas Legislature saw a sharp divide in 2023 over a record number of bills impacting the LGBTQ+ community, and the fight over several bills that passed has spilled out of the Capitol and into the courtroom.

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Texas Legislature saw a sharp divide in 2023 over a record number of bills impacting the LGBTQ+ community, and the fight over several that passed has spilled out of the Capitol and into the courtroom.

A number of bills affecting LGBTQ+ Texans passed, but some have been challenged and held up in court, and others failed but may be resurrected the next time lawmakers meet in 2025. (Courtesy Equality Texas)

Proponents of controversial bills that became laws — like the READER Act, a prohibition on certain medical options for transgender children and the so-called “drag ban” — have said their efforts were meant to protect children from explicit sexual content and influence.

But those opposing many of the bills said the laws harm kids, discriminate specifically against LGTBQ+ people and restrict constitutionally-protected freedoms.

Now state and federal judges are considering cases against the laws.

Almost a year since the 2023 legislative session wrapped — and six months since KXAN investigated the influx of LGBTQ+ bills — we take a look at the status of the measures that passed, which ones have been challenged and held up in court, and others that failed but may be resurrected the next time lawmakers meet in 2025.

Bills that passed

Texans aren’t seeing the impact of several laws that sparked the most controversy last session, since they’ve been caught up in court battles and paused while appeals play out.

Senate Bill 12: In Court

Drag queen host Celia Light performs in Austin in September. (KXAN Photo/Josh Hinkle)

Senate Bill 12, commonly referred to as the “drag ban” by its opponents — although it never explicitly mentions "drag" in the text — continues to be fought in federal court. The state appealed an injunction on the law. On April 10, the American Civil Liberties Union submitted a brief to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled the law will remain blocked until the court issues a final ruling. The lawmakers behind the legislation did not respond to KXAN’s request for comment.

Senate Bill 14: In Court

The issue of transgender rights brings new conflict at the Texas Capitol. A protester against Senate Bill 14 was apprehended by Texas Department of Public Safety officers May 2, 2023. (Nexstar Photo/Ryan Chandler)

Another law that bans certain medical options for transgender children and could put a doctor’s medical license in jeopardy for providing them — created by Senate Bill 14 — is awaiting a Texas Supreme Court decision. The high court heard oral arguments on Jan. 30, when opponents of the law argued it stops parents from being able to make medical decisions on behalf of their kids and discriminates against kids on the basis of sex. The legislators who wrote the law did not reply to KXAN’s questions about the law and case.

House Bill 900: Stopped unless appealed to the Supreme Court

A new Texas law required book publishers and vendors to review and rate books for “sexually relevant” or “sexually explicit” content if those books are sold to school libraries. (KXAN Photo/Josh Hinkle)

Booksellers and publishers, including Book People in Austin, have opposed the law created by House Bill 900 that requires them to rate the level of sexual content in books sold to school libraries. The law remains blocked by the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal. In April, the Fifth Circuit declined to reconsider (or rehear) the case. The lawmaker behind the legislation said the Texas Attorney General should appeal.

The law's author, Rep. Jared Patterson, R-Frisco, said it was "incredibly disappointing" that the court sided with "book vendors who push pornography on unsuspecting children in our public schools" and Attorney General Ken Paxton should appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, according to a post on X.

Those challenging the “READER Act,” say it violates the First Amendment, and the cost to enact it could put booksellers out of business. Lawmakers backing the law did not respond to KXAN’s request for information, but they’ve said the rules are intended to stop children from encountering sexually explicit content.

Paxton's office did not respond to KXAN’s questions on any of the bills or lawsuits.

Senate Bill 17: In Effect

Blaze, the University of Texas at Arlington mascot, holds the intersex-inclusive progress pride flag in a photo taken before SB 17 went into effect (Courtesy UT Arlington)

The impact of Senate Bill 17 has been felt in public universities across the state. The law prohibits higher education institutions from having diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, offices. They cannot make DEI-based hiring decisions or require people to participate in DEI training, among other provisions.

Since the law passed, university DEI offices at Texas' public universities closed and some employees formerly with those offices saw their jobs eliminated. Student groups have also lost institutional support, and programs and scholarships shuttered.

Bill author Sen. Brandon Crieghton, R-Conroe, spoke with KXAN in March, saying DEI offices had a chilling effect on campus freedom of speech and promising hearings for universities who seek to "subvert the intentions and the spirit of the law." Creighton also warned that universities failing to comply with the law could have their funding frozen or face legal action.

Student organizing against the bill, which started during the 2023 regular session, continues. 

Senate Bill 15: In Effect

In this Feb. 18, 2017, file photo, Euless Trinity’s Mack Beggs, who is transgender, is announced as the winner of a semifinal match during the finals of the UIL Region 2-6A wrestling tournament at Allen High School in Allen, Texas. (Nathan Hunsinger/The Dallas Morning News via AP, File)

Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 15 into law last year, requiring athletes at public colleges or universities to play on teams that match the sex on their birth certificates and barring transgender athletes from competing on teams that correspond with their gender identity. The law has gone unchallenged in the state, so far. 

One federal threat to the law’s standing was a proposal by President Joe Biden’s administration in April 2023 to reinterpret Title IX — a more than half-century-old rule that increased educational opportunities free from sex discrimination. That proposal would challenge a state’s ability to enforce categorical transgender athlete bans. After pushback, the Biden administration released new provisions under Title IX revisions; however, any guidance on transgender athletes' eligibility to participate in sports was absent. At least 24 other states have similar laws to Texas on transgender athlete participation on the books. 

In May, Abbott sent a letter to higher education leaders across the state directing them to ignore the federal rule changes to Title IX.  Abbott specifically cited Texas’ law requiring athletes to compete based on their gender at birth, saying the new federal rules would “erase the advancements Texas has made.”

While there have been no legal challenges in Texas, several other states have run into hurdles. Most recently, a federal appeals court ruled a West Virginia law violates a transgender teen athlete’s rights under Title IX by blocking her from participating on her middle school cross country and track and field team, according to the Associated Press.

Many other high-profile bills that would affect the LGBTQ+ community didn’t pass in the last session. There’s a chance any bill that failed could be refiled when lawmakers gather again in January.

In 2023, Texas lawmakers considered 141 pieces of legislation impacting the LGBTQ+ community. That was a record number for the state and one-fifth of all such state-level bills in the country that year, according to records analyzed by the Human Rights Campaign and Equality Texas. 

Homosexual conduct bill

KXAN followed the progress of several bills that didn’t pass, including the homosexual conduct bill that was the focus of KXAN’s OutLaw project.

In the 20 years since the SCOTUS ruling, Texas lawmakers filed at least 39 bills to repeal the homosexual conduct law from the Penal Code. All attempts failed, though HB 2055 by Rep. Venton Jones, D-Dallas, passed a House committee in 2023, signaling bipartisan support. (Courtesy Office of Rep. Venton Jones)

For decades, Texas law has continued to contain a provision outlawing homosexual conduct, despite the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2003 that such a law is unconstitutional. Lawmakers have tried for years to get the homosexual conduct law removed from statute but have so far been unsuccessful. KXAN found Texas lawmakers have filed at least 55 bills since the early ‘80s to strike the law from the books; 39 of those attempts followed the Supreme Court’s decisions. All the bills failed.

Rep. Venton Jones, D-Dallas, filed the most recent bill to repeal the homosexual conduct law in 2023; and, if re-elected, he said he plans to file similar legislation in 2025.

Jones said his constituents were proud to see the momentum he built to repeal the homosexual conduct law, which is under section 21.06 of the criminal code, and they "support our efforts to continue to push for the repeal of sec. 21.06 in the 89th Legislative Session."

The homosexual conduct repeal bill was just one of many LGBTQ+ related bills that didn’t pass. Here’s a look at others.

Unpassed legislation

Senate Bill 162, filed by Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, would have barred minors from changing the gender listed on their birth certificates. Those who fought against the bill, like activist Rocky Lane, said without an updated birth certificate a trans person would be unable to update other official documents.

"If I’m pulling out a document that says something other than ‘M’, that is a dangerous situation for me. That’s an outing situation for me," Lane said at the time. 

The bill passed the Senate but not the House. KXAN was unable to obtain a comment on the future of the potential law from Perry's office.

Ash Hall, with ACLU Texas, expects a similar bill to be filed in the upcoming session. 

Other states have seen a push toward making changes to gender markers on birth certificates. In February, Montana reinstated a ban on changing gender markers on a birth certificate. The previous ban had been overturned in court, while the new ban was directed by the state's Department of Public Health and Human Services. Meanwhile, in Oklahoma, lawmakers attempted to pass a bill similar to Texas’ Senate Bill 162, but not restricted to minors. That bill made it out of committee but did not receive a vote in the Oklahoma House.

If it had passed, Senate Bill 559 would have expanded religious protection for attorneys in Texas who express their personal views on LGBTQ+ issues. Advocates worried the legislation could have led to "state-sanctioned discrimination."

The bill's author, Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, maintained the bill was intended to address “cancel culture” as well as “growing attacks” on freedom of speech, religious freedom and expression of religious belief. The senator's office did not respond to KXAN when asked whether he planned to file similar legislation next year. The bill had the backing of the Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops and the conservative, faith-based non-profit advocacy group Texas Values.

Texas lawmakers also considered enacting House Bill 890, a law that would have restricted conversations surrounding gender identity and sexual orientation in Texas public and charter schools for students in pre-K through 12th grade.

The law ultimately didn't pass, but spokesperson for Equality Texas said the organization anticipates a similar filing to come in the 2025 legislative session.

Several school districts, including Katy ISD, have since adopted similar policy initiatives at their own campuses.

In May, the U.S. Department of Education initiated an investigation into Katy ISD over its gender identity policy — which requires staff to alert parents if students ask to use alternative pronouns, names or identify as transgender — as possible gender harassment under Title IX, according to reporting by the Texas Tribune.

Elsewhere, Florida education officials and civil rights attorneys reached a settlement in early March on the state's Parental Rights in Education law, a similar measure to what Texas had proposed. Originally, that law had also restricted any discussion of gender identity and sexual orientation in Florida classrooms; following the March settlement, students and teachers can discuss those topics — provided they are not part of school instruction.

Another bill, Senate Bill 1601, would have cut off state funding for any public library that hosted a drag story time event for children. The legislation did not become law in 2023. It passed the Senate but never received a hearing in the House. Texas Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, introduced this measure. Despite multiple requests from KXAN, he never responded to inquiries about whether he plans to bring back this proposal next year.

KXAN Data Reporter Christopher Adams, Investigative Photojournalist Richie Bowes, Special Projects Digital Developer Robert Sims and Digital Director Kate Winkle contributed to this report.