Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3842 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R14646 LRM-D
2	2	By: Schatzline H.B. No. 3842
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the prohibited display of certain flags in governmental
10	10	buildings or on governmental property; providing a civil penalty.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Subtitle A, Title 6, Government Code, is amended
13	13	by adding Chapter 621 to read as follows:
14	14	CHAPTER 621. PROHIBITED DISPLAY OF CERTAIN FLAGS ON GOVERNMENTAL
15	15	PROPERTY
16	16	Sec. 621.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
17	17	(1) "Governmental entity" means:
18	18	(A) a department, commission, board, office, or
19	19	other agency in the executive branch of state government that was
20	20	created by the constitution or a statute of this state, including an
21	21	institution of higher education as defined by Section 61.003,
22	22	Education Code;
23	23	(B) the supreme court, the court of criminal
24	24	appeals, a court of appeals, a district court, or the Texas Judicial
25	25	Council or another agency in the judicial branch of state
26	26	government;
27	27	(C) a county, municipality, special purpose
28	28	district, including a school district, or any other political
29	29	subdivision of this state; or
30	30	(D) an open-enrollment charter school
31	31	established under Subchapter D, Chapter 12, Education Code.
32	32	(2) "LGBTQ flag" means a flag intended to display
33	33	support for lesbianism, homosexuality, bisexuality,
34	34	transgenderism, gender nonconforming behavior, or an individual
35	35	who engages in such conduct.
36	36	Sec. 621.002. PROHIBITED DISPLAY. A governmental entity or
37	37	employee of a governmental entity may not display an LGBTQ flag in a
38	38	building or on property owned or controlled by the governmental
39	39	entity, including a classroom.
40	40	Sec. 621.003. PERSONAL ITEMS. An individual in a building
41	41	or on property owned or controlled by a governmental entity may
42	42	display a personal item with an LGBTQ flag, such as a small pin or
43	43	clothing, while in the public building or on the property.
44	44	Sec. 621.004. CONSTRUCTION OF CHAPTER. This chapter may
45	45	not be construed to restrict or regulate:
46	46	(1) behavior of an employee of a governmental entity
47	47	while the employee is not performing the employee's official
48	48	duties; or
49	49	(2) speech or conduct protected by the First Amendment
50	50	to the United States Constitution, or by Section 8, Article I, Texas
51	51	Constitution.
52	52	Sec. 621.005. SANCTIONS FOR NONCOMPLIANCE BY SCHOOL. (a) A
53	53	school district or open-enrollment charter school may impose
54	54	sanctions, including removal from the person's employment
55	55	position, against a district or school employee who violates this
56	56	chapter.
57	57	(b) The board of trustees of a school district shall
58	58	investigate any suspected violation of this chapter to determine
59	59	whether the violation occurred. If the board determines that a
60	60	violation has occurred, the board shall immediately report the
61	61	violation to the commissioner of education.
62	62	(c) If the commissioner of education finds on an appeal
63	63	under Section 7.057, Education Code, that a school district has
64	64	violated this chapter, notwithstanding any other law, the
65	65	commissioner shall withhold the funding to which the district is
66	66	entitled under Chapters 46, 48, and 49, Education Code, for the
67	67	school year during which the violation occurred. The commissioner
68	68	may adjust the district's entitlement to funding under those
69	69	chapters for subsequent school years as necessary to recover any
70	70	state funding already paid to the district for the school year in
71	71	which the violation occurred.
72	72	(d) This section applies to an open-enrollment charter
73	73	school as though the governing body of the school were the board of
74	74	trustees of a school district.
75	75	Sec. 621.006. CIVIL PENALTY. (a) This section does not
76	76	apply to a school district or open-enrollment charter school
77	77	established under Subchapter D, Chapter 12, Education Code.
78	78	(b) A governmental entity or employee of a governmental
79	79	entity that violates this chapter is subject to a civil penalty in
80	80	an amount not to exceed $2,000 for each violation.
81	81	(c) The attorney general may sue to collect a penalty
82	82	imposed under this section and may recover reasonable expenses
83	83	incurred in collecting the penalty, including court costs,
84	84	reasonable attorney's fees, investigative costs, witness fees, and
85	85	deposition costs.
86	86	Sec. 621.007. IMMUNITY WAIVED. Sovereign, governmental,
87	87	and official immunity to suit is waived and abolished to the extent
88	88	of liability created by this chapter.
89	89	SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.