With a Republican supermajority in the House, no one really expected any of these bills to pass going into the session. So the fact that some of them even received committee hearings is a victory. And the good news is, a few anti-gay measures are slated to die along them, including one that would make it easier for the attorney general to block same-sex divorces, and the House version of a bill that would effectively bar transgender people from marrying people of the opposite sex. (It should be noted that the Senate version of the transgender marriage ban is still alive.)

Of course, there is always a risk that these or other anti-LGBT measures will be tacked on to other bills as amendments, but here’s hoping the Legislature is too busy from here on out with the budget and redistricting.

Speaking of the budget, last week we reported that the Senate’s version includes $19.2 million requested by the Texas HIV Medication Program to serve 3,000 anticipated new clients over the next two years. The House version of the budget left out this money, meaning low-income people with HIV/AIDS could be denied life-sustaining drugs. It’s now be up to a House-Senate conference committee to resolve the issue. On that note, the Campaign to End AIDS will hold a rally Friday at the Texas Capitol. For more info or to RSVP for the rally, contact Michelle Anderson at heavenly_gates_777@yahoo.com.

Chuck Smith

It’s been a good week for pro-LGBT bills in the Texas Legislature.

Three bills backed by Equality Texas were referred to House committees and another three were filed as lawmakers started getting down to business in the 2011 session.

“There was kind of a flurry of activity this week,” said Chuck Smith, deputy director of Equality Texas. “The lower your bill number is, the greater opportunity you have to have a committee hearing sooner rather than later. It’s possible that either the birth certificate [bill] or some of the bullying bills may have hearings in the next couple weeks, and that’s certainly positive.”

HB 415, by Rep. Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas, would allow same-sex parents to record both of their names on an adopted child’s birth certificate. The bill was referred Wednesday to the House Committee on Public Health. Two years ago, Anchia’s birth certificate bill received a very favorable hearing in the same committee, Smith said.

“There’s a decent chance we could have another good hearing. I’m hopeful that we might be able to win a vote in that committee,” he said, adding that testimony two years ago came from children of same-sex parents who told legislators they merely want accurate birth certificates. “It’s a pretty straightforward and compelling argument.”

On the anti-bullying front, Smith said Equality Texas was asked this week to testify in support of a bill that would establish a statewide anti-bullying hotline. HB 130, by Rep. Carol Alvarado, is not LGBT-specific but could receive a committee hearing as early as Monday.

“The bill is trying to blend this into existing family violence hotlines ,” Smith said. “The goal here is, obviously, given the budget crisis, anything that’s going to cost additional money isn’t going to have a chance in hell.”

Meanwhile, Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, introduced a bill Wednesday that calls for the state to develop a comprehensive suicide prevention program for middle, junior and high schools. The bill, an updated version of Coleman’s Dignity for All Students Act from previous sessions, would also ban anti-LGBT bullying, harassment and discrimination in public schools.

Another bill filed this week, SB 741 by State Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, would ban discrimination in insurance based on sexual orientation and gender identity/expression. Ellis’ bill is the Senate companion to HB 208, by Rep. Roberto Alonzo, D-Dallas, which was referred to the House Insurance Committee this week. Smith said the insurance bills are of particular importance to the transgender community, whose members often have difficulty obtaining health coverage.

Elsewhere on the insurance front, State Rep. Elliott Naishtat, D-Austin, filed a bill Thursday that would allow state university systems to provide benefits to “qualified individuals,” including the same-sex partners of employees. Smith said HB 1492 is similar to bills Naishtat has filed in previous sessions, with one exception: To avoid a fiscal note, the state wouldn’t pay any portion of insurance premiums for the qualified individuals.

“The employee would pay the premium for the partner, but they would be eligible for the plan,” he said.

On another positive note, Smith said no anti-LGBT bills have been filed thus far, and he hasn’t heard rumblings of any.

“In terms of priority, picking on the gays, we’re kind of back in the line behind picking on immigrants and picking on women’s choice,” he said. “There certainly are groups that have a much bigger target on them this session than we do.”

Smith said Equality Texas is busy getting ready for Lobby Day on March 7.

“There’s a real possibility to have some legislative success on some of these bills, particularly with regard to birth certificates and with regard to anti-bullying legislation,” Smith said. “Anyone who has the ability to be in Austin on March 7 should be. If you can’t come to Austin, your state representative and your state senator have an office in our hometown.”

For more information or to register for Lobby Day, go here. Watch videos promoting the event below, and share your story by going here.

Texas House Speaker Joe Straus has finally announced the committee assignments for the 82nd Texas House. As I predicted last month the partisan breakdown of the committee chairs roughly reflects the distribution of party control in the House with 11 Democratic chairs and 25 Republicans (not including the four select and joint committee chairs, all Republicans).

House committees that queer Texans will want to watch very carefully:

Public Education — Will get the anti-bullying bills. Chairman Rob Eissler, R-The Woodlands, scheduled the hearing for HB 1323 (last session’s anti-bullying bill) very late last session, but he did schedule a hearing and the committee eventually voted to send the bill to the floor for a vote of the whole House. Unfortunately, time ran out last session (more info on HB 1323 is here). Rep. Mark Strama, D-Austin, whose HB 224 is expected to be the water bearer for anti-bullying bills, is on the committee this session.

Public Health – Will get HB 405, which would allow same-sex parents to get accurate birth certificates for their children. Chairwoman Lois Kolkhorst, R-Austin, was visibly moved by testimony last session on this bill. Let’s hope that causes her to schedule it for an early hearing.

Criminal Jurisprudence – Will get HB 604, the repeal of Texas’s unconstitutional sodomy law and HB 172, the study of the effectiveness of the Texas Hate Crimes Act. Chairman Pete Gallego, D-Alpine, has a solid record of voting in the best interest of queer Texans, but repealing the unconstitutional sodomy law, however common-sense, is going to be a hard sell. Plus, with virulent homophobes Wayne Christian, Bill Zedler and Will Hartnett on the committee, it seems unlikely that common sense will beat out bigotry. The Hate Crimes study has a better chance. It made it out of committee last session, but it’s hard to predict what will happen this session.

Insurance – Will get HB 208 prohibiting insurance companies from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression. Chairman John Smithee, R-Amarillo, hasn’t let this bill through in past sessions, and I’d be shocked if he lets it through this session. Smithee takes every chance he can get to hurt queer Texans. He’s not likely to pass this chance up, either.

State Affairs – Will get HB 665, which would prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression. This bill, or a version of it, has been filed every session for over a decade, and it never gets a hearing. While new Chairman Byron Cook, R-Corsicana, is an immense improvement over old Chairman Burt Solomons, it’s unlikely that this bill will go anywhere.

Now that we have committees, bills are going to start moving left and right. The 82nd regular session of the Texas Legislature is finally getting going!