Shofner Bill Defines Male And Female For Every Texas Statute

The text as introduced · 1,673 words

89R8797 MPF-D

By: Shofner
H.B. No. 2704

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to general definitions regarding biological sex and the

designation and use of certain spaces according to biological sex;

authorizing a civil right of action.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the Definition and

Protection of a Woman Act.

SECTION 2. The purposes of this Act are to:

(1) clarify and reconcile the meanings in state

statutory law of sex, male, female, and related terms; and

(2) provide protections for women and girls against

sexual assault, harassment, violence, and acts of abuse committed

by men in restrooms, changing rooms, and sleeping quarters

designated for women.

SECTION 3. The legislature finds that:

(1) in United States v. Virginia, 518 U.S. 515 (1996),

citing Ballard v. United States, 329 U.S. 187, 193 (1946), the court

recognized:

(A) "[p]hysical differences between men and

women, however, are enduring: '[T]he two sexes are not fungible; a

community made up exclusively of one [sex] is different from a

community composed of both'"; and

(B) "'[i]nherent differences' between men and

women . . . remain cause for celebration, but not for denigration

of the members of either sex or for artificial constraints on an

individual's opportunity";

(2) the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth

Amendment to the United States Constitution allows the legislature

to enact facially neutral laws of general applicability;

(3) biologically based definitions of sex have been

consistently applied since our nation's founding;

(4) decades of United States Supreme Court opinions

have upheld the argument that biological distinctions between male

and female are a matter of scientific fact, and biological sex is an

objectively defined category that has obvious, immutable, and

distinguishable characteristics; and

(5) policies and laws that distinguish between the

sexes are subject to intermediate constitutional scrutiny, which

forbids unfair discrimination against similarly situated males and

females but allows the law to distinguish between the sexes where

such distinctions are substantially related to an important

government interest.

SECTION 4. Section 311.005, Government Code, is amended by

adding Subdivisions (14), (15), (16), (17), (18), (19), and (20) to

read as follows:

(14) "Boy" means a child of the male sex.

(15) "Father" means a parent of the male sex.

(16) "Female" and "woman" mean an individual who has,

or would have but for a developmental or genetic anomaly or

accident, a reproductive system designed to produce, transport, and

provide eggs for fertilization.

(17) "Girl" means a child of the female sex.

(18) "Male" and "man" mean an individual who has, or

would have but for a developmental or genetic anomaly or accident, a

reproductive system designed to produce, transport, and provide

sperm for fertilization.

(19) "Mother" means a parent of the female sex.

(20) "Sex" means an individual's biological sex,

either male or female, as observed or clinically verified at birth.

SECTION 5. Subtitle Z, Title 10, Government Code, is

amended by adding Chapter 3001 to read as follows:

CHAPTER 3001. GOVERNMENT ACTION REGARDING CERTAIN PRIVATE SPACES

Sec. 3001.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:

(1) "Changing room" means a room or area in which an

individual may be in a state of undress in the presence of another

individual. The term includes a locker room or shower room.

(2) "Correctional facility" means a facility

designated by law for the confinement of an individual arrested

for, charged with, or convicted of a criminal offense. The term

includes:

(A) a confinement facility operated by the Texas

Department of Criminal Justice; and

(B) a confinement facility operated under

contract with any division of the Texas Department of Criminal

Justice.

(3) "Covered facility" means a correctional facility,

family violence center, homeless shelter, juvenile detention

center, and public school.

(4) "Family violence center" means a family violence

nonresidential center or a family violence shelter center, as those

terms are defined by Section 51.002, Human Resources Code, that has

contracted with the Health and Human Services Commission under

Section 51.003, Human Resources Code.

(5) "Homeless shelter" means a supervised publicly

operated shelter or other facility that is designed to provide

temporary living accommodations to homeless individuals.

(6) "Juvenile detention center" means a nonsecure

correctional facility, secure correctional facility, or secure

detention facility, as those terms are defined by Section 51.02,

Family Code.

(7) "Multi-occupancy private space" means a changing

room, a restroom, or sleeping quarters designed or designated for

the simultaneous use of more than one individual.

(8) "Political subdivision" means a governmental

entity of this state, including a county, municipality, special

purpose district or authority, and junior college district.

(9) "Public school" has the meaning assigned Section

61.9811, Education Code.

(10) "Restroom" means a room designed for use of a

toilet or urinal by one or more individuals.

(11) "Single-occupancy private space" means a

changing room, a restroom, or sleeping quarters designed or

designated for use by only one individual.

(12) "Sleeping quarters" means a room that contains a

bed and is designed as a space for more than one individual to

regularly sleep overnight.

(13) "State agency" means a department, commission,

board, office, council, authority, or other agency in the

executive, legislative, or judicial branch of state government that

is created by the constitution or a statute of this state.

Sec. 3001.002. REQUIRED DESIGNATION OF MULTI-OCCUPANCY

PRIVATE SPACES. (a) The owner or operator of a covered facility

shall designate each multi-occupancy private space in the facility

for the exclusive use of either females or males.

(b) A multi-occupancy private space designated under

Subsection (a) for the exclusive use of either females or males may

only be used by an individual of the designated sex.

(c) The owner or operator of a covered facility shall take

reasonable steps to ensure an individual using a multi-occupancy

private space designated under Subsection (a) for the exclusive use

of either females or males is not observed or disturbed by an

individual of the opposite sex.

Sec. 3001.003. REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE TO CERTAIN SPACES IN

PUBLIC SCHOOLS. (a) A public school may not require a student to

share sleeping quarters with an individual who is of the sex

opposite to the student's sex during any school-related event

unless:

(1) the individual is a member of the student's family,

including a parent, guardian, sibling, or grandparent; and

(2) the school obtained approval from the student's

parent or guardian for the student to share the sleeping quarters

with the family member.

(b) A public school shall ensure that:

(1) a private, separate changing room or space is

designated for use by individuals of the same sex in each room or

space in which an individual may be in a state of undress in the

presence of another individual; and

(2) only individuals of the designated sex enter the

room or space described by Subdivision (1).

Sec. 3001.004. CONSTRUCTION OF CHAPTER. Sections 3001.002

and 3001.003 do not prohibit the owner or operator of a covered

facility from:

(1) adopting a policy necessary to accommodate an

individual with a disability, a young child, or an elderly

individual who requires assistance when using a restroom, a

changing room, or sleeping quarters;

(2) establishing a single-occupancy private space or a

family restroom, changing room, or sleeping quarters; or

(3) changing the designation under Section 3001.002 of

a multi-occupancy private space previously designated for the

exclusive use of individuals of the opposite sex.

Sec. 3001.005. EXCEPTIONS. A designation or requirement

under Section 3001.002 or 3001.003 does not apply to an individual

who enters a multi-occupancy private space or space described by

Section 3001.002(a):

(1) for custodial or maintenance purposes;

(2) to render medical assistance;

(3) for law enforcement purposes; or

(4) to provide services or render assistance during a

natural disaster or declared emergency or as necessary to prevent a

serious threat to proper order or safety.

Sec. 3001.006. PROHIBITED REGULATIONS. A state agency or

political subdivision may not adopt or enforce a rule, policy,

resolution, ordinance, or other measure that:

(1) prohibits any person, including the owner or

operator of a covered facility, from designating a private space

for the exclusive use of males or females in a location in which

biology, safety, or privacy are implicated, including a location

designated for use by athletes; or

(2) uses language to circumvent the requirements of

this chapter or otherwise achieve the same or a substantially

similar effect as prohibiting conduct required under this chapter.

Sec. 3001.007. PRIVATE CAUSE OF ACTION. A person affected

by a covered facility's alleged violation of this chapter may bring

a civil action to obtain appropriate:

(1) declaratory relief;

(2) injunctive relief;

(3) compensatory damages;

(4) writ of mandamus; and

(5) court costs, including reasonable attorney's and

witness fees.

Sec. 3001.008. CONTRACTOR CAUSE OF ACTION. Any person who

contracts with this state or a political subdivision of this state

to provide services for a covered facility may bring an action for

appropriate relief under Section 3001.007 against the applicable

state agency or political subdivision for directing the person to

perform an act in violation of this chapter.

Sec. 3001.009. RETALIATION PROHIBITED. (a) A covered

facility may not take retaliatory or other adverse action against a

person for acting to enforce this chapter.

(b) A person who is the subject of an adverse action

prohibited by Subsection (a) may bring an action against the

covered facility for appropriate relief under Section 3001.007.

Sec. 3001.010. REBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION FOR ALLEGED

VIOLATION. In an action brought against a covered facility by a

person for a violation of this chapter in requiring the person to

share sleeping quarters with an individual who is of the sex

opposite to the person and except as allowed under Section

3001.003, it is a rebuttable presumption that the covered

facility's requirement of the person to share the sleeping quarters

is discriminatory and caused actual harm to the person.

Sec. 3001.011. SOVEREIGN AND GOVERNMENTAL IMMUNITY WAIVED.

Sovereign and governmental immunity to suit is waived and abolished

to the extent of liability created by this chapter.

SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.