Texas GOP Lawmaker's Proposed Bill Would Void Local LGBT Protections

Texas state Senator Bob Hall, a Republican, has introduced a bill that seeks to void local LGBT protections.

While lawmakers don't reconvene until January, prefiling of bills got underway on Monday.

Hall's bill (Senate Bill 92) seeks to prohibit cities and municipalities from adopting or enforcing “a local law that creates a protected classification or prohibits discrimination on a basis not contained in the laws of this state.” Texas does not prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

“A local law that is adopted by a political subdivision before the date this section becomes law and that violates [a subsection of this bill] is null and void,” the bill states.

According to Equality Texas, the state's largest LGBT rights advocate, the bill would affect nearly 9 million Texans, roughly one-third of the state's residents. Cities that provide some level of protection include San Antonio, Dallas, Austin, Fort Worth, Plano, Houston, El Paso, Arlington, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, Mesquite and Waco.