89R14646 LRM-D
By: Schatzline H.B. No. 3842
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the prohibited display of certain flags in governmental
buildings or on governmental property; providing a civil penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subtitle A, Title 6, Government Code, is amended
by adding Chapter 621 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 621. PROHIBITED DISPLAY OF CERTAIN FLAGS ON GOVERNMENTAL
PROPERTY
Sec. 621.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Governmental entity" means:
(A) a department, commission, board, office, or
other agency in the executive branch of state government that was
created by the constitution or a statute of this state, including an
institution of higher education as defined by Section 61.003,
Education Code;
(B) the supreme court, the court of criminal
appeals, a court of appeals, a district court, or the Texas Judicial
Council or another agency in the judicial branch of state
government;
(C) a county, municipality, special purpose
district, including a school district, or any other political
subdivision of this state; or
(D) an open-enrollment charter school
established under Subchapter D, Chapter 12, Education Code.
(2) "LGBTQ flag" means a flag intended to display
support for lesbianism, homosexuality, bisexuality,
transgenderism, gender nonconforming behavior, or an individual
who engages in such conduct.
Sec. 621.002. PROHIBITED DISPLAY. A governmental entity or
employee of a governmental entity may not display an LGBTQ flag in a
building or on property owned or controlled by the governmental
entity, including a classroom.
Sec. 621.003. PERSONAL ITEMS. An individual in a building
or on property owned or controlled by a governmental entity may
display a personal item with an LGBTQ flag, such as a small pin or
clothing, while in the public building or on the property.
Sec. 621.004. CONSTRUCTION OF CHAPTER. This chapter may
not be construed to restrict or regulate:
(1) behavior of an employee of a governmental entity
while the employee is not performing the employee's official
duties; or
(2) speech or conduct protected by the First Amendment
to the United States Constitution, or by Section 8, Article I, Texas
Constitution.
Sec. 621.005. SANCTIONS FOR NONCOMPLIANCE BY SCHOOL. (a) A
school district or open-enrollment charter school may impose
sanctions, including removal from the person's employment
position, against a district or school employee who violates this
chapter.
(b) The board of trustees of a school district shall
investigate any suspected violation of this chapter to determine
whether the violation occurred. If the board determines that a
violation has occurred, the board shall immediately report the
violation to the commissioner of education.
(c) If the commissioner of education finds on an appeal
under Section 7.057, Education Code, that a school district has
violated this chapter, notwithstanding any other law, the
commissioner shall withhold the funding to which the district is
entitled under Chapters 46, 48, and 49, Education Code, for the
school year during which the violation occurred. The commissioner
may adjust the district's entitlement to funding under those
chapters for subsequent school years as necessary to recover any
state funding already paid to the district for the school year in
which the violation occurred.
(d) This section applies to an open-enrollment charter
school as though the governing body of the school were the board of
trustees of a school district.
Sec. 621.006. CIVIL PENALTY. (a) This section does not
apply to a school district or open-enrollment charter school
established under Subchapter D, Chapter 12, Education Code.
(b) A governmental entity or employee of a governmental
entity that violates this chapter is subject to a civil penalty in
an amount not to exceed $2,000 for each violation.
(c) The attorney general may sue to collect a penalty
imposed under this section and may recover reasonable expenses
incurred in collecting the penalty, including court costs,
reasonable attorney's fees, investigative costs, witness fees, and
deposition costs.
Sec. 621.007. IMMUNITY WAIVED. Sovereign, governmental,
and official immunity to suit is waived and abolished to the extent
of liability created by this chapter.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.