Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick is gearing up for a fight during next year's legislative session, where he hopes to introduce a "bathroom bill" in his state.
Patrick told the Dallas Regional Chamber in a speech Thursday that local laws allowing "men to go into a bathroom because of the way they feel" would lead to a rise in sexual predators and sexual assault.
That's why he's calling the bill the "Women's Privacy Act."
Conservatives are struggling to rebrand bathroom bills, which prevent transgender people from using restrooms and changing rooms matching their gender identity, after the outcry over North Carolina's HB2 law. The state has lost revenue from entertainers and sports league who are boycotting the state over the anti-trans law, and Gov. Pat McCrory, who signed the bill into law, is facing repeated challenges over HB2 during the gubernatorial race this year.
Texas businesses have already come out and said they would oppose a bathroom bill in their state.
