Texas' special session on floods, taxes, THC, redistricting could also spend time targeting transgender life

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Gov. Greg Abbott called for the first special session of the 89th Texas State Legislature Wednesday, and set 18 topics for the session. Transgender advocacy groups said that one topic will impact their community.

Abbott's special session proclamation includes calls for flood relief and prevention, redrawing congressional election maps, property tax relief, and more. It also opens the door to "legislation protecting women’s privacy in sex-segregated spaces."

KXAN asked the governor's office about the topic's inclusion. This article will be updated if a response is received.

Partisan opportunities in a crisis?

In a social media post Wednesday, the Transgender Education Network of Texas, or TENT, said it believes that the topic is intended to pass a bathroom bill.

"Texas leadership has made their opinion loud and clear - they do not believe trans people have the right to call Texas home," said TENT in a social media post. "Research shows that most Americans would favor laws that protect trans people from discrimination. It’s time our leadership starts serving the people of Texas, instead of acting out of selfishly motivated cruelty."

TENT said it plans to keep an eye on the session. Following recent catastrophic floods in Texas, it seems likely that the rest of the state will as well.

Alice, a transgender woman living in Austin, said that she's discouraged to see Abbott pushing such a topic during a crisis -- alluding to severe flooding.

"In the midst of a real crisis, we are supposed to come together," Alice said. "Instead, I worry about more of my rights being taken away by the state. I grew up on values like small government, but Republicans keep proving they care more about bullying queer people than any of their values."

Texas Legislative Progressive Caucus Executive Director Cody Meador claimed, in an email to KXAN, that Abbott's true intent for the session is to redraw Texas' electoral maps.

"Everything else on the Governor’s call is being used to serve this deceitful purpose," Meador said. "That includes flood relief, and that includes divisive partisan issues like 'protecting women’s privacy in sex-segregated spaces,' which can only be interpreted as an attack on our queer community. Both of these are examples of Governor Abbott using Texans’ lives as pawns to distract voters from the real threat to our safety and security: MAGA Republicans and their billionaire donors taking over Congress with rigged maps."

Repeating past failures?

This isn't the first special session that Abbott has allowed consideration of a restroom ban. In 2017, he called for "legislation regarding the use of multi-occupancy showers, locker rooms, restrooms, and changing rooms."

However, during that special session, former Rep. Bryon Cook blocked a bill that would have enacted such a ban.

“This is not an issue that rises to the level that we should be distracted from much more important issues,” said Cook at the time, according to prior reporting from KXAN.

After 2017, Abbott has called for seven other special sessions, none of which included the topic, according to the Legislative Reference Library of Texas.

Earlier this year, Republican Texas Sen. Mayes Middleton filed Senate Bill 240, which was titled as the "Texas Women's Privacy Act."

That bill would have banned transgender Texans from using public restrooms or changing rooms that correspond with their gender. It also would have incarcerated transgender inmates in prisons aligned with their birth sex. The bill included potential fines that could be brought against political subdivisions of the state for violations.

Several similar bills were filed during the regular session, with SB 240 going furthest before ultimately failing to pass. While his bill wasn't named in Abbott's proclamation, Middleton celebrated on X as though it was.

"Thanks to [Abbott] for these priorities on the special session agenda: ban taxpayer-funded lobbying, Texas Women’s Privacy Act, empowering the Attorney General to prosecute election-related crimes, strengthen pro-life laws, flood relief and preparedness, add Republican seats in Congress, [and] other conservative priorities," the senator wrote. "As your next Attorney General, I’m ready to fight and enforce them!"

No bills have been filed for the upcoming special session yet. It begins July 21 and can only last a maximum of 30 days.