Overview

• Representatives voted 86–43 after adopting a last‑minute Rep. Steve Toth amendment that raised institutional fines to $25,000 for a first violation and $125,000 for subsequent ones, making the bill the most financially punitive of its kind.
• SB 8 requires use of restrooms and similar facilities in state buildings, public schools and universities based on sex assigned at birth, and it restricts placement for transgender inmates and access to women’s domestic‑violence shelters with narrow exceptions.
• The bill permits gender‑neutral single‑stall restrooms and does not penalize individuals, focusing penalties on institutions instead.
• Enforcement is routed through after‑the‑fact complaints to the Texas attorney general and allows private lawsuits against governments, with the bill specifying that each day can count as a separate violation.
• A tense floor debate led House staff and state troopers to clear the public gallery; the measure now needs a final House vote, Senate concurrence on changes, and faces expected court challenges once enacted before the Sept. 13 special‑session deadline.