CORPUS CHRISTI, Tx — The new Senate Bill 8 law requires people to use restrooms in public buildings that match the sex on their birth certificate. Schools like the University of Texas at San Antonio have already began making changes, moving students living in co-ed spaces into different dorm rooms.
Senate Bill 8 — also called the Texas Women's Privacy Act — requires people to use restrooms in public buildings that match the sex on their birth certificate. A change many say directly impacts transgender Texans who may no longer be able to use restrooms that align with their gender identity.
But Political Analyst Dr. David Smith tells me there's a caveat to the bill.
"The legislation as it's written doesn't provide a mechanism for enforcement," Dr. David Smith, Political Analyst, said.
That means cities and counties could end up handling SB 8 differently.
"What happens in Corpus Christi isn't gonna be the same thing that happens in Austin or San Antonio," Smith said.
So I went to see what impact we could see here in the Coastal Bend.
At the Nueces County Courthouse, Sheriff John Hooper says restrooms are mostly single-stall — meaning little would change.
"In the last 30 years, they've never had a disturbance about bathroom usage inside of the courthouse," Sheriff John Hooper said.
I also reached out to local colleges. TAMU-CC declined an interview but sent a statement saying they're implementing the law as required. Del Mar College has not responded.
As for Smith, he says a big concern now is lawsuits.
"And so now you can file a complaint and then file a lawsuit regarding someone using a bathroom that can be perceived to be inappropriate," Smith said.
And those legal challenges could be costly.
"They could potentially be fined $25,000 for the first instance, and up to $125,000 for each subsequent offense," Smith said.
For now, local leaders say they're reviewing what "reasonable enforcement" looks like under Senate Bill 8, and students, residents, and advocates are watching closely to see how these changes could impact their daily lives and transgender rights in the Coastal Bend.
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