Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2258 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	By: Toth H.B. No. 2258
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6	6	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
7	7	AN ACT
8	8	imposing private civil liability on anyone who causes or
9	9	contributes to the social transitioning of a minor.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. This Act shall be known as the Vulnerable Youth
12	12	Protection Act.
13	13	SECTION 2. Chapter 161, Health and Safety Code, is amended
14	14	by adding Subchapter Y to read as follows:
15	15	SUBCHAPTER Y. VULNERABLE YOUTH PROTECTION ACT
16	16	Sec. 161.711. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
17	17	(1) "Castration, sterilization, or mutilation of a
18	18	minor" means any of the procedures or treatments prohibited in
19	19	Subchapter X, Chapter 161, Health and Safety Code, regardless of
20	20	who performs or provides those procedures or treatments. It does
21	21	not include any of the conduct described in Section 161.703, Health
22	22	and Safety Code.
23	23	(2) "Social transitioning" means any act by which a
24	24	minor child adopts or espouses a gender identity that differs from
25	25	the child's biological sex as determined by the sex organs,
26	26	chromosomes, and endogenous profiles of the child. This can
27	27	include but is not limited to changes in clothing, pronouns,
28	28	hairstyle, and name.
29	29	Sec. 161.712. CAUSING OR CONTRIBUTING TO THE TRANSITIONING
30	30	OF A MINOR. (a) Any person who causes or contributes to:
31	31	(1) The social transitioning of a minor; or
32	32	(2) The castration, sterilization, or mutilation of a
33	33	minor,
34	34	shall be strictly, absolutely, and jointly and severally
35	35	liable to the child and the child's parents for any personal
36	36	injuries or harm resulting from the conduct described in this
37	37	subsection, PROVIDED, that no person may be held liable under this
38	38	section for speech or conduct protected by the First Amendment of
39	39	the United States Constitution, as made applicable to the states
40	40	through the Supreme Court of the United States' interpretations of
41	41	the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution, or by
42	42	Article 1, § 8 of the Texas State Constitution.
43	43	(b) A person who prevails in a suit brought under this
44	44	section shall be entitled to recover:
45	45	(1) nominal damages;
46	46	(2) compensatory damages;
47	47	(3) statutory damages in an amount of not less than
48	48	$10,000.00 from each defendant, in addition to any compensatory
49	49	damages that may be awarded; and
50	50	(4) punitive damages in an amount of not less than
51	51	$10,000,000.00 from each defendant if irreversible sterilization
52	52	or sexual dysfunction results, in addition to any compensatory
53	53	damages that may be awarded; and
54	54	(5) costs and reasonable attorney's fees.
55	55	(c) Notwithstanding any other law, a person may bring an
56	56	action under this section not later than the 20th anniversary of the
57	57	date the cause of action accrues.
58	58	(d) Notwithstanding any other law, the following are not a
59	59	defense to an action brought under this section:
60	60	(1) ignorance or mistake of law;
61	61	(2) a defendant's belief that the requirements or
62	62	provisions of this subchapter are unconstitutional or were
63	63	unconstitutional;
64	64	(3) a defendant's reliance on any court decision that
65	65	has been vacated, reversed, or overruled on appeal or by a
66	66	subsequent court, even if that court decision had not been vacated,
67	67	reversed, or overruled when the conduct described in subsection
68	68	(a) occurred;
69	69	(4) a defendant's reliance on any state or federal
70	70	court decision that is not binding on the court in which the action
71	71	has been brought;
72	72	(5) a defendant's reliance on any federal statute,
73	73	agency rule or action, or treaty that has been repealed,
74	74	superseded, or declared invalid or unconstitutional, even if that
75	75	federal statute, agency rule or action, or treaty had not been
76	76	repealed, superseded, or declared invalid or unconstitutional when
77	77	the conduct described in subsection (a) occurred;
78	78	(6) non-mutual issue preclusion or non-mutual claim
79	79	preclusion;
80	80	(7) the consent of the plaintiff to the defendant's
81	81	conduct;
82	82	(8) contributory or comparative negligence;
83	83	(9) assumption of risk;
84	84	(10) lack of but-for or proximate causation;
85	85	(11) sovereign immunity, governmental immunity,
86	86	official immunity, or qualified immunity;
87	87	(12) the plaintiff's waiver or purported waiver of
88	88	their right to sue under this section;
89	89	(13) the plaintiff's failure to exhaust administrative
90	90	remedies; or
91	91	(14) any claim that the enforcement of this subchapter
92	92	or the imposition of civil liability against the defendant will
93	93	violate the constitutional rights of third parties, except as
94	94	provided by Subsection (h).
95	95	(e) Notwithstanding any other law, including Chapter 17,
96	96	Civil Practice and Remedies Code, the courts of this state shall
97	97	have personal jurisdiction over any defendant sued under this
98	98	section to the maximum extent permitted by the Fourteenth Amendment
99	99	to the United States Constitution.
100	100	(f) Notwithstanding any other law, the law of Texas shall
101	101	apply to any gender-transitioning treatment provided to a resident
102	102	or citizen of Texas, regardless of where that treatment occurred,
103	103	and to any civil action brought under this Section, to the maximum
104	104	extent permitted by the Constitution of the United States and the
105	105	Constitution of Texas. Any contractual choice-of-law provision
106	106	that purports to require the law of a different jurisdiction to
107	107	apply shall be void as against public policy, and may not be
108	108	enforced in any state or federal court. This section shall apply
109	109	extraterritorially to the maximum extent permitted by the
110	110	Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of Texas.
111	111	(g) A civil action under this section may not be brought
112	112	against any person that acted at the behest of federal agencies,
113	113	contractors, or employees that are carrying out duties under
114	114	federal law, if the imposition of liability upon that person would
115	115	violate the doctrines of preemption or intergovernmental immunity.
116	116	(h) A defendant against whom an action is brought under this
117	117	section may assert an affirmative defense to liability under this
118	118	subsection if:
119	119	(1) the imposition of liability on the defendant will
120	120	violate constitutional or federally protected rights that belong to
121	121	the defendant personally; or
122	122	(2) the defendant
123	123	(A) has standing to assert the rights of a third
124	124	party under the tests for third-party standing established by the
125	125	Supreme Court of the United States; and
126	126	(B) demonstrates that the imposition of
127	127	liability on the defendant will violate constitutional or federally
128	128	protected rights belonging to that third party.
129	129	(i) Nothing in this section or subchapter shall limit or
130	130	preclude a defendant from asserting the unconstitutionality of any
131	131	provision or application of Texas law as a defense to liability
132	132	under this section, or from asserting any other defense that might
133	133	be available under any other source of law.
134	134	(j) Notwithstanding any other law, this section shall be
135	135	enforced exclusively through the private civil actions described in
136	136	Subsections (a) and (b). No direct or indirect enforcement of this
137	137	section may be taken or threatened by the state, a political
138	138	subdivision, a district or county attorney, or any officer or
139	139	employee of this state or a political subdivision against any
140	140	person or entity, by any means whatsoever, and the conduct
141	141	described in Subsection (a) may not be used to justify or trigger
142	142	the enforcement of any other law or any type of adverse consequence
143	143	under any other law, except through the private civil actions
144	144	described in Subsections (a) and (b). This section does not
145	145	preclude or limit the enforcement of any other law or regulation
146	146	against conduct that is independently prohibited by such other law
147	147	or regulation, and that would remain prohibited by such other law or
148	148	regulation in the absence of this section.
149	149	(k) Notwithstanding any other law, neither the state, nor
150	150	any of its political subdivisions, nor any district or county
151	151	attorney, nor any officer or employee of this state or a political
152	152	subdivision may:
153	153	(1) act in concert or participation with anyone who
154	154	brings suit under this section;
155	155	(2) establish or attempt to establish any type of
156	156	agency or fiduciary relationship with a person who brings suit
157	157	under this section;
158	158	(3) make any attempt to control or influence a person's
159	159	decision to bring suit under this section or that person's conduct
160	160	of the litigation; or
161	161	(4) intervene in any action brought under this
162	162	section.
163	163	This subsection does not prohibit a person or entity
164	164	described by this subsection from filing an amicus curiae brief in
165	165	the action, so long as that person or entity does not act in concert
166	166	or participation with the plaintiff or plaintiffs who sue under
167	167	this section or violate any provision of Subsection (k)(1)-(4).
168	168	(l) Notwithstanding any other law, a civil action under this
169	169	section shall not be subject to any provision of Chapter 27, Civil
170	170	Practice and Remedies Code, or Chapter 110, Civil Practice and
171	171	Remedies Code.
172	172	(m) Notwithstanding any other law, including Rule 42 of the
173	173	Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, a civil action under this section
174	174	may not be litigated on behalf of a plaintiff class or a defendant
175	175	class, and no court may certify a class under Rule 42 of the Texas
176	176	Rules of Civil Procedure in any civil action brought under this
177	177	section.
178	178	(n) Any waiver or purported waiver of the right to sue under
179	179	this section shall be void as against public policy, and shall not
180	180	be enforceable in any court.
181	181	Sec. 161.713. IMMUNITY FROM SUIT AND LIMITS ON STATE-COURT
182	182	JURISDICTION. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, the state and
183	183	each of its officers and employees shall have sovereign immunity,
184	184	its political subdivisions and each of their officers and employees
185	185	shall have governmental immunity, and each officer and employee of
186	186	this state or a political subdivision shall have official immunity
187	187	(as well as sovereign or governmental immunity, as appropriate) in
188	188	any action, claim, counterclaim, or any type of legal or equitable
189	189	action that challenges the validity or enforceability of any
190	190	provision or application of this subchapter, on constitutional
191	191	grounds or otherwise, or that seeks to prevent or enjoin the state,
192	192	its political subdivisions, or any officer, employee, or agent of
193	193	this state or a political subdivision from enforcing any provision
194	194	or application of this subchapter, or from hearing, adjudicating,
195	195	or docketing a civil action brought under Section 161.712, unless
196	196	that immunity has been abrogated or preempted by federal law in a
197	197	manner consistent with the Constitution of the United States. The
198	198	sovereign immunity conferred by this section upon the state and
199	199	each of its officers and employees includes the constitutional
200	200	sovereign immunity recognized by the Supreme Court of the United
201	201	States in Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida, 517 U.S. 44 (1996),
202	202	and Alden v. Maine, 527 U.S. 706 (1999), which applies in both
203	203	state and federal court and which may not be abrogated by Congress
204	204	or by any state or federal court except pursuant to congressional
205	205	legislation authorized by section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment, by
206	206	the Bankruptcy Clause of Article I, or by Congress's powers to raise
207	207	and support Armies and to provide and maintain a Navy, or by any
208	208	other ground that might be recognized by the Supreme Court of the
209	209	United States.
210	210	(b) Notwithstanding any other law, the immunities conferred
211	211	by Subsection (a) shall apply in every court, both state and
212	212	federal, and in every adjudicative proceeding of any type
213	213	whatsoever.
214	214	(c) Notwithstanding any other law, no provision of state law
215	215	may be construed to waive or abrogate an immunity described in
216	216	Subsection (a) unless it expressly waives or abrogates immunity
217	217	with specific reference to this section.
218	218	(d) Notwithstanding any other law, no attorney representing
219	219	the state, its political subdivisions, or any officer, employee, or
220	220	agent of this state or a political subdivision is authorized or
221	221	permitted to waive an immunity described in Subsection (a) or take
222	222	any action that would result in a waiver of that immunity, and any
223	223	such action or purported waiver shall be regarded as a legal nullity
224	224	and an ultra vires act.
225	225	(e) Notwithstanding any other law, including Chapter 37,
226	226	Civil Practice and Remedies Code, and sections 22.002, 22.221, and
227	227	24.007 through 24.011, Government Code, no court of this state may
228	228	award declaratory or injunctive relief, or any type of stay or writ,
229	229	including a writ of prohibition, that would pronounce any
230	230	provision or application of this subchapter invalid or
231	231	unconstitutional, or that would restrain or prevent the state, its
232	232	political subdivisions, any officer, employee, or agent of this
233	233	state or a political subdivision, or any person from enforcing any
234	234	provision or application of this subchapter, or from hearing,
235	235	adjudicating, docketing, or filing a civil action brought under
236	236	Section 161.712, and no court of this state shall have jurisdiction
237	237	to consider any action, claim, or counterclaim that seeks such
238	238	relief, and no such action, claim, or counterclaim may be litigated
239	239	on behalf of a plaintiff or defendant class, notwithstanding Rule
240	240	42 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, and no court may certify a
241	241	plaintiff or defendant class in any action seeking the relief
242	242	described in this Subsection.
243	243	(f) Nothing in this section or subchapter shall be construed
244	244	to prevent a litigant from asserting the invalidity or
245	245	unconstitutionality of any provision or application of this
246	246	subchapter as a defense to any action, claim, or counterclaim
247	247	brought against that litigant.
248	248	Sec. 161.714. SEVERABILITY. (a) Mindful of Leavitt v.
249	249	Jane L., 518 U.S. 137 (1996), in which in the context of determining , 518 U.S. 137 (1996), in which in the context of determining
250	250	the severability of a state statute the Supreme Court of the United
251	251	States held that an explicit statement of legislative intent is
252	252	controlling, it is the intent of the legislature that every
253	253	provision, section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or word
254	254	in this subchapter, and every application of the provisions in this
255	255	subchapter to every person, group of persons, or circumstances,
256	256	are severable from each other.
257	257	(b) If any application of any provision in this subchapter
258	258	to any person, group of persons, or circumstances is found by a
259	259	court to be invalid, preempted, or unconstitutional, for any reason
260	260	whatsoever, then the remaining applications of that provision to
261	261	all other persons and circumstances shall be severed and preserved,
262	262	and shall remain in effect. All constitutionally valid applications
263	263	of the provisions in this subchapter shall be severed from any
264	264	applications that a court finds to be invalid, preempted, or
265	265	unconstitutional, because it is the legislature's intent and
266	266	priority that every single valid application of every statutory
267	267	provision be allowed to stand alone.
268	268	(c) The legislature further declares that it would have
269	269	enacted this subchapter, and each provision, section, subsection,
270	270	sentence, clause, phrase, or word, and all constitutional
271	271	applications of the provisions of this subchapter, irrespective of
272	272	the fact that any provision, section, subsection, sentence, clause,
273	273	phrase, or word, or applications of this subchapter were to be
274	274	declared invalid, preempted, or unconstitutional.
275	275	(d) If any provision of this subchapter is found by any
276	276	court to be unconstitutionally vague, then the applications of that
277	277	provision that do not present constitutional vagueness problems
278	278	shall be severed and remain in force, consistent with the
279	279	severability requirements of Subsections (a), (b), and (c).
280	280	(e) No court may decline to enforce the severability
281	281	requirements of Subsections (a), (b), (c), and (d) on the ground
282	282	that severance would "rewrite" the statute or involve the court in
283	283	legislative or lawmaking activity. A court that declines to
284	284	enforce or enjoins a state official from enforcing a statutory
285	285	provision is never rewriting a statute or engaging in legislative
286	286	or lawmaking activity, as the statute continues to contain the same
287	287	words as before the court's decision. A judicial injunction or
288	288	declaration of unconstitutionality:
289	289	(1) is nothing more than an edict prohibiting
290	290	enforcement of the disputed statute against the named parties to
291	291	that lawsuit, which may subsequently be vacated by a later court if
292	292	that court has a different understanding of the requirements of the
293	293	Texas Constitution or United States Constitution;
294	294	(2) is not a formal amendment of the language in a
295	295	statute; and
296	296	(3) no more rewrites a statute than a decision by the
297	297	executive not to enforce a duly enacted statute in a limited and
298	298	defined set of circumstances.
299	299	(f) If any state or federal court disregards any of the
300	300	severability requirements in Subsections (a), (b), (c), (d), or
301	301	(e), and declares or finds any provision of this subchapter
302	302	facially invalid, preempted, or unconstitutional, when there are
303	303	discrete applications of that provision can be enforced against a
304	304	person, group of persons, or circumstances without violating
305	305	federal law or the federal or state constitutions, then that
306	306	provision shall be interpreted, as a matter of state law, as if the
307	307	legislature had enacted a provision limited to the persons, group
308	308	of persons, or circumstances for which the provision's application
309	309	will not violate federal law or the federal or state constitutions,
310	310	and every court and every state official shall adopt this saving
311	311	construction of that provision until the court ruling that
312	312	pronounced the provision facially invalid, preempted, or
313	313	unconstitutional is vacated or overruled.
314	314	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
315	315	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
316	316	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
317	317	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
318	318	Act takes effect September 1, 2025.