AUSTIN, Texas — An East Texas senator has authored two bills that would ban drag shows held on public property or in the presence of a child and take away funding for local libraries allowing those dressing in drag to read to kids.
Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, filed both Senate Bills 12 and 1601 in March, according to the Texas Legislature website.
SB 12 would restrict a business owner from presenting a "sexually oriented performance" on their premises if a person younger than 18 is present. The proposal also seeks to prohibit these performances from happening on public property.
Hughes' bill defines a sexually oriented performance as featuring:
- A nude performer
- A male performer presenting himself as female or a female presenting herself as a male, who "uses clothing, makeup, or other similar physical markers and who sings, lip syncs, dances, or otherwise performs before an audience"
- Appeals to the lewd interest in sex
The bill states that a person commits this offense if the performance (whether or not compensation is involved) happened on public property or in front of someone under 18 years old.
Someone found guilty of this could face a criminal charge of a Class A misdemeanor.
A business owner who presents one of these performances in front of a child could face a civil penalty of no more than $10,000 for each violation. The attorney general can take action to recover the money or get a court order to restrain the violation.
According to the proposed legislation, cities and counties would be able to regulate these performances while considering public health, safety or welfare, but the shows cannot be on public property or in front of a child.
Regarding the other bill, SB 1601 would take a state funding away from a municipal library if that library hosts an event, where the main performer is dressed as the opposite gender and reads a book to a child.
The text of the bill said state funds would be denied the following fiscal year in which the library hosted the event.
If approved by both the Senate and House and later Gov. Greg Abbott, the bills would become law on Sept. 1 this year.