89R18142 TYPED     By: Gerdes H.B. No. 4552       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to the Texas Antidiscrimination Act.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  This Act may be cited as the Texas   Antidiscrimination Act.          SECTION 2.  Subtitle A, Title 6, Government Code, is amended   by adding Chapter 621 to read as follows:   CHAPTER 621. PROHIBITION ON DISCRIMINATORY INITIATIVES          Sec. 621.001.  LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS; PURPOSE. (a) The   legislature finds that:                (1)  Section 3, Article I, Texas Constitution (Equal   Protection Clause), provides that "[a]ll freemen, when they form a   social compact, have equal rights, and no man, or set of men, is   entitled to exclusive separate public emoluments, or privileges,   but in consideration of public service;"                (2)  Section 3a, Article I, Texas Constitution (Equal   Rights Amendment), provides that "[e]quality under the law shall   not be denied or abridged because of sex, race, color, creed, or   national origin;"                (3)  The Texas Constitution's Equal Rights Amendment   was designed expressly to provide protection which supplements the   federal guarantees of equal treatment;                (4)  The Texas Constitution's Equal Rights Amendment is   more extensive and provides more specific protection than both the   United States and Texas due-process and equal-protection   guarantees; and                (5)  The discriminatory initiatives described in this   chapter are antithetical to Texas Constitution's Equal Protection   Clause and Equal Rights Amendment and lack a rational relationship   to a legitimate governmental purpose such that the initiatives   violate Texas's Equal Protection Clause and Equal Rights Amendment;   and                (6)  Texans deserve a government committed to serving   every person with equal dignity and respect and to expending   precious taxpayer resources only on making Texas great for all   Texans.          (b)  The purpose of this act is to prevent the unlawful   discrimination that is antithetical to the Texas Constitution's   Equal Protection Clause and Equal Rights Amendment. This act does   not create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,   enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the   governmental entities listed in Section 621.002(2), except as   provided by Section 621.004.          Sec. 621.002.  DEFINITIONS.  In this chapter:                (1)  "Discriminatory office" means an office,   division, or other unit of a governmental entity established for   the purpose of:                      (A)  influencing hiring or employment practices   or workforce composition at the entity with respect to race, sex,   color, or ethnicity, other than through the use of color-blind,   race-neutral, and sex-neutral hiring processes in accordance with   any applicable state and federal antidiscrimination laws;                      (B)  promoting differential treatment or   providing special benefits to individuals on the basis of race,   sex, color, or ethnicity;                      (C)  promoting policies or procedures designed or   implemented in reference to race, sex, color, or ethnicity, other   than policies or procedures:                            (i)  approved in writing by the attorney   general; and                            (ii)  implemented for the sole purpose of   ensuring compliance with any applicable federal law enacted before   September 1, 2025;                      (D)  conducting trainings, programs, or   activities designed or implemented in reference to race, sex,   color, ethnicity, gender identity, or sexual orientation, other   than trainings, programs, or activities:                            (i)  developed by an attorney;                            (ii)  approved in writing by the attorney   general; and                            (iii)  conducted for the sole purpose of   ensuring compliance with any applicable court order or state or   federal law enacted before September 1, 2025; or                      (E)  promoting, as an official position of the   entity, a particular opinion referencing unconscious or implicit   bias, cultural appropriation, allyship, transgender ideology,   microaggressions, group marginalization, anti-racism, systemic   oppression, social justice, intersectionality, neo-pronouns,   heteronormativity, disparate impact, gender theory, racial or   sexual privilege, or any related formulation of these concepts.                (2)  "Governmental entity" means:                      (A)  a department, commission, board, office, or   other agency that is in the executive branch of state government and   that was created by the constitution or a statute, other than an   institution of higher education as defined by Section 61.003,   Education Code;                      (B)  the legislature or a legislative state   agency;                      (C)  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;                      (D)  a county, municipality, special purpose   district, including a school district, or any other political   subdivision of this state; or                      (E)  an open-enrollment charter school   established under Subchapter D, Chapter 12, Education Code.          Sec. 621.003.  RESPONSIBILITY OF GOVERNMENTAL ENTITY   REGARDING DISCRIMINATORY INITIATIVES.  (a)  A governmental entity   shall ensure that each unit of the entity does not, except as   required by federal law:                (1)  does not, except as required by federal law:                      (A)  establish or maintain a discriminatory   office;                      (B)  hire or assign an employee of the entity or   contract with a third party to perform the duties of a   discriminatory office;                      (C)  compel, require, induce, or solicit any   person to provide a discriminatory statement or give preferential   consideration to any person based on the provision of a   discriminatory statement;                      (D)  give preference on the basis of race, sex,   color, ethnicity, or national origin to an applicant for   employment, an employee, or a participant in any function of the   entity; or                      (E)  require as a condition of employment any   person to participate in discriminatory training, which:                            (i)  includes a training, program, or   activity designed or implemented in reference to race, sex, color,   ethnicity, gender identity, or sexual orientation; and                            (ii)  does not include a training, program,   or activity developed for the purpose of ensuring compliance with   any applicable federal law; and                (2)  adopts policies and procedures for appropriately   disciplining, including by termination, an employee or contractor   of the entity who engages in conduct in violation of Subdivision   (1).          (b)  Subsection (a)(1) may not be construed to apply to:                 (1)  academic course instruction;                (2)  scholarly research or a creative work by a school   district's or open-enrollment charter school's students or faculty;                (3)  an activity of a student organization registered   with or recognized by a school district or open-enrollment charter   school;                (4)  guest speakers or performers on short-term   engagements;                 (5)  a program or activity to enhance student academic   achievement or postgraduate outcomes that allows participation   without regard to race, sex, color, or ethnicity; or                 (6)  data collection.          Sec. 621.004.  COMPLAINT; ENFORCEMENT. (a) A person who has   a reasonable belief that a governmental entity is violating this   chapter may file a complaint with the attorney general.          (b)  If the attorney general determines that a governmental   entity named in a complaint received under Subsection (a) is   violating this chapter, the attorney general may file a petition   for a writ of mandamus to compel the governmental entity to comply   with this chapter.          (c)  A mandamus action under Subsection (b) must be filed in:                (1)  Travis County, if the governmental entity is an   entity described by Section 621.002(2)(A)-(C); or                (2)  the county in which the governmental entity is   located, if the governmental entity is an entity described by   Section 621.002(2)(D) or (E).          SECTION 3.  Subchapter Z, Chapter 2252, Government Code, is   amended by adding Section 2252.911 to read as follows:          Sec. 2252.911.  PROHIBITED CONSIDERATIONS IN CONTRACTING.     (a) In this section, "governmental entity" has the meaning   assigned by Section 2252.001, except that the term does not include   an institution of higher education as defined by Section 61.003,   Education Code.          (b)  Notwithstanding any other law, a governmental entity   may not award a contract or provide preferential or discriminatory   treatment to a person submitting a bid for a contract on the basis   of race, color, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, or sexual   orientation.          SECTION 4.  The changes in law made by Section 3 of this Act   apply only to a contract entered into on or after the effective date   of this Act. A contract entered into before that date is governed   by the law in effect on the date the contract was entered into, and   the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.          SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives   a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as   provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this   Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this   Act takes effect September 1, 2025.