AUSTIN — The Texas House on Friday approved legislation that would expand the ways Texans can be arrested for “sexual conduct” in front of a minor.
Senate Bill 12 was originally pitched as a way to ban children from attending drag shows. But the House sponsor amended the bill to remove explicit mentions of drag performers, and said the legislation now bars anyone from various acts in front of a minor or in a public place.
The bill passed by a vote of 88-12; 42 members were recorded as being present but not voting, an unusually high number. It must get the approval of the House once more, which could come as early as Saturday, and the Senate needs to sign off on any changes before it would head to Gov. Greg Abbott. The legislative session ends on May 29.
House sponsor Matt Shaheen, R-Plano, said it would help put an end to the sexualization of children in Texas. The language targeting drag performers was stripped because it was “unnecessary” and potentially unconstitutional, he said during debate on the House floor.
In its current version, the bill creates a host of new crimes.
Prohibited behaviors include actual or simulated groping, actual or simulated arousal and display of a sex toy, if done in a “prurient” manner — a term the bill does not define — in front of a minor or in a public place. Violators could get slapped with a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and a $4,000 fine, and the business hosting them would be subject to a $10,000 civil penalty per violation.
During debate in committee, business owners and lawyers raised concerns that the bill was overly broad and could criminalize common adult behaviors like dirty dancing. Some drag performers and LGBTQ rights activists also opposed the bill, even with the explicit target on drag removed, because they are worried it will be unevenly enforced against their community.
The legislation, and several other bills that would restrict LGBTQ rights, have been the subject of massive protests this session.
But there was little debate on the bill Friday.
Rep. Julie Johnson, D-Farmers Branch, asked Shaheen how he would define “prurient.” He said it means the “obsessive interest in sex” and pointed to the Miller test, a 1973 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said something is obscene if it violates contemporary community standards and lacks any serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value.
She also asked whether performers like Miley Cyrus could run afoul of the law for dancing provocatively, to which Shaheen answered that anyone who violates it would be subject to its penalties.
Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, asked why Shaheen wanted to pass this bill when there are already laws against public indecency. He answered that they didn’t explicitly deal with sexual performances in front of minors.
The Texas Freedom Network, a liberal advocacy organization, criticized the bill’s passage.
“With less than two weeks of the legislative session left, anti-LGBTQ lawmakers are not letting up on their prejudiced agenda,” TFN Vice President of Programs Marti Bier said in a statement. “We refuse to be fooled by attempts to trick Texans into thinking this bill is not intended to target drag, and by extension, the LGBTQIA+ community that has found acceptance and chosen family through performance.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a similar bill into law this week, and said it is meant to restrict drag shows even though it doesn’t explicitly call them out, according to NBC News.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick made barring children from drag shows one of his priorities this session. It is unclear whether he will support the bill now that references to drag have been removed. His spokesman, and staff for the Senate author Bryan Hughes of Mineola, did not respond to a request for comment Friday.
At least six Democrats voted in favor: R.D. “Bobby” Guerra of McAllen, Armando “Mando” Martinez of Weslaco, Eddie Morales Jr. of Eagle Pass, Sergio Muñoz Jr. of Mission, Richard Raymond of Laredo and Shawn Thierry of Houston.
