Overview

• Senate Bill 8 bars transgender people from using multiple-occupancy bathrooms and changing rooms in government buildings and public schools that align with their gender identity.
• The bill mandates inmate housing by “biological sex” and restricts access for transgender women to certain domestic violence shelters.
• Violations carry civil fines of $25,000 for a first offense and $125,000 for a second, with each day of noncompliance counted as a separate infraction.
• Lawmakers advanced the measure during a special session after roughly a decade of unsuccessful attempts, with the House and Senate approving final language this week.
• Reporters note the fines make it the most financially punitive bathroom statute in the country, and Texas would join about 19 states with similar restrictions if it becomes law.