Senate Bill 29, a bill that would prohibit trans youth from playing on sports teams consistent with their gender identity, died to cheers and applause in the Texas House as the clock struck midnight on Tuesday.
Despite being revived by Democratic state Rep. Harold Dutton in an act of revenge, Senate Bill 29 never advanced in the House. Tuesday was the last day for the House to consider Senate Bill 29 and other legislation from the upper chamber on its second reading.
On Wednesday morning, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said Gov. Greg Abbott should call a special session in June to revive and pass Senate Bill 29 and other controversial Republican items that failed to make it to the governor’s desk during the regular session.
The death of SB 29 is at least the third major defeat of anti-trans legislation in the past week.
Senate Bill 1646, a bill that would classify transgender youth healthcare as child abuse, never made it out of the House Public Health House Committee after being passed by the Senate last month. It died on Saturday, the day for House committees to report Senate bills.
The same fate occurred to Senate Bill 1311, legislation that would have outlawed transgender youth healthcare.
Most other similar and/or companion anti-trans legislation died much earlier in the session.
With a total of 12 bills, Texas led the nation this session in the amount of anti-trans legislation.
Photo: Larry D. Moore / Wikimedia Commons
Fernando covers Texas politics and government at the Texas Signal. Before joining the Signal, Fernando spent two years at the Houston Chronicle and previously interned at Houston’s NPR station News 88.7. He is a graduate of the University of Houston, Jack J. Valenti School of Communication, and enjoys reading, highlighting things, and arguing on social media. You can follow him on Twitter at @fernramirez93 or email at fernando@texassignalarchive.com
