Texas’ proposed bill can claim state felony against transgender people

The bill proposed in the Texas Legislature allows transgender Texans to be claimed as a state felony if they commit what their supporters call “gender identity fraud.”

Republican Rep. Tom Oliverson, who represents parts of Houston in the 130th District, introduced House Bill 3817, which amends the Texas Criminal Code to add a new form of fraud related to gender identity.

According to the bill, “gender identity fraud” is notified by a person “by identifying a intentionally misleading or misleading oral or written statement to a government body or person’s employer as assigned to someone assigned to someone assigned to someone assigned to someone who was born with a biological sex.”

The penalty for someone to commit “gender identity fraud” is a state felony, with someone who has been in jail for up to two years and could be fined $10,000. According to Texas Legislature Trackers, the bill is not expected to pass because it has no co-sponsored and has not moved to the committee.

Oliverson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on USA Today on Monday.

Not the only anti-trans movement in Texas

The bill, if passed, essentially prohibits transgender people in the state from sharing their gender identity with their employers, but it can also apply to police interactions and applications for government benefits.

This latest proposed bill is not the only anti-transgender policy in the state. In August 2024, the Texas Department of Public Safety ordered employees to stop allowing transgender people to change gender by their driver’s licenses and state IDs.

“The Public Safety Administration is responsible for keeping all Texans safe, as stated in their own name. This policy does the opposite,” the ACLU said of the changes. “Not having an accurate driver’s license puts the health and safety of trans people at risk.

Less than a month later, the state allowed people to change the genders listed on their birth certificates, according to the Texas Tribune.

Anti-Trans bills are inundated

The 89th Texas legislative meeting has been underway since early January, with almost 100 anti-trans bills being introduced so far, according to the Trans Legislation Tracker. This number already surpasses the 69 anti-trans bills introduced at the last legislative meeting of 2023.

In Texas, state legislatures meet every other year.

Oliverson himself was a key sponsor of another anti-trans bill in the Texas Legislature. At the 2023 legislative meeting, he sponsored Senate Bill 14, banning state gender maintenance care and was upheld by the state Supreme Court.

Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA Today. Contact him at fernando.cervantes @gannett.com and follow him at x @fern_cerv_.