TORONTO
ASAE President & CEO John Graham IV said Texas’ controversial “bathroom bill," officially known as Senate Bill 3, which aims to restrict transgender people's access to certain public restrooms, will likely not leave committee in the Texas legislature, according to information just received by the association.
“We’ve received information that [the bill] is not going to leave committee, so it will not go to conference in the Senate, so that is good,” Graham said. “We are remaining vigilant because the session expires Friday, Aug. 18. We have our fingers crossed that the bill will not see the light of day, and Texas will remain the free and open place it is today.”
Graham made the announcement during ASAE's Annual Meeting & Exposition (Aug. 12-15), currently underway in Toronto. ASAE was one of the first associations to speak out against the bill and also joined up with the "Texas Welcomes All" campaign to fight against discriminatory legislation in the state.
A number of associations already pulled business from Texas in protest of the proposed legislation.
Reuters confirmed in recent reporting that House Speaker Joe Straus "showed little interest in passing the bill."
