HB 5135 — Relating to prohibition of discrimination by governmental entities based on immutable characteristics.

Summary

Relating to prohibition of discrimination by governmental entities based on immutable characteristics.

Bill Text

AI-generated reading aid from the bill's amendatory text — verify against the official bill.

This bill amends the Texas statutes.

• CHAPTER 621. PROHIBITION OF DISCRIMINATION BY GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES BASED ON IMMUTABLE CHARACTERISTICS Sec. 621.001. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS; PURPOSE. (a) The legislature finds that: (1) Section 3, Article I, Texas Constitution (Equal Protection Clause), provides that "[a]ll freemen, when they form a social compact, have equal rights, and no man, or set of men, is entitled to exclusive separate public emoluments, or privileges, but in consideration of public service;" (2) Section 3a, Article I, Texas Constitution (Equal Rights Amendment), provides that "[e]quality under the law shall not be denied or abridged because of sex, race, color, creed, or national origin;" (3) The Texas Constitution's Equal Rights Amendment was designed expressly to provide protection which supplements the federal guarantees of equal treatment; (4) The Texas Constitution's Equal Rights Amendment is more extensive and provides more specific protection than both the United States and Texas due-process and equal-protection guarantees; and (5) Discrimination by governmental entities is antithetical to the Texas Constitution's Equal Protection Clause and Equal Rights Amendment and lack a rational relationship to a legitimate governmental purpose such that the initiatives violate Texas's Equal Protection Clause and Equal Rights Amendment; and (6) Texans deserve a government committed to serving every person with equal dignity and respect and to expending precious taxpayer resources only on making Texas great for all Texans. (b) The purpose of this act is to prevent the unlawful discrimination that is antithetical to the Texas Constitution's Equal Protection Clause and Equal Rights Amendment. This act does not create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the governmental entities listed in Section 621.002(2), except as provided by Section 621.004. Sec. 621.002. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: (a) "Discriminatory office" means an office, division, or other unit of a governmental entity established for the purpose of: (1) influencing hiring or employment practices or workforce composition at the entity with respect to race, sex, color, or ethnicity, other than through the use of color-blind or sex-neutral hiring processes in accordance with any applicable state and federal antidiscrimination laws; (2) promoting differential treatment or providing special benefits to individuals on the basis of race, sex, color, or ethnicity; (3) promoting policies or procedures designed or implemented in reference to race, sex, color, or ethnicity, other than policies or procedures implemented for the sole purpose of ensuring compliance with applicable federal law; (4) conducting trainings, programs, or activities designed or implemented in reference to race, sex, color, or ethnicity, other than trainings, programs, or activities conducted for the sole purpose of ensuring compliance with any applicable court order or federal law; or (5) promoting, as an official position of the entity, a particular opinion referencing unconscious or implicit bias, cultural appropriation, allyship, transgender ideology, microaggressions, group marginalization, anti-racism, systemic oppression, social justice, intersectionality, neo-pronouns, heteronormativity, disparate impact, gender theory, racial or sexual privilege, or any related formulation of these concepts. (b) "Diversity, equity, and inclusion" means: (1) influencing hiring or employment practices with respect to race, sex, color, or ethnicity, other than through the use of color-blind and sex-neutral hiring processes in accordance with any applicable state and federal antidiscrimination laws; (2) promoting differential treatment of or providing special benefits to individuals on the basis of race, sex, color, or ethnicity; (3) promoting policies or procedures designed or implemented in reference to race, sex, color, or ethnicity, other than policies or procedures approved in w

  amended

Action History

1. April 07, 2025

   Referred to State Affairs

2. April 07, 2025

   Read first time

3. March 13, 2025

   Filed

Sponsors

• Stan Gerdes · Primary

Subjects