Republican Texas lawmakers rally around bill restricting the college sports teams transgender athlet
A Republican bill that would extend Texas’ restrictions on transgender athletes to the college level could be on track to become law after receiving support from a majority of House members.
The bill’s author, state Rep. Valoree Swanson, R-Spring, announced Wednesday that 77 GOP colleagues had signed on as co-authors of House Bill 23. That gives it slightly more than the support it needs to pass the 150-member House. The measure already has support from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the presiding officer of the Senate, and Gov. Greg Abbott.
The legislation would bar transgender men from competing on men’s college sports teams and transgender women from joining women’s college athletic teams. But the bill would also allow cisgender and transgender female athletes to play on a men’s team if there is no corresponding women’s team in a particular sport. The bill would also extend the current restrictions on transgender athletes in K-12 schools to private schools whose sports teams compete against public schools.
There are still nearly three months left in the legislative session, and the bill could hit procedural snags, among other hurdles. But for now, the unified GOP support makes it likely the proposal will become law in some form.
https://www.texastribune.org/2023/03/01/texas-house-transgender-athlete-college-restrictions/
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