By: Cain H.B. No. 4425       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   Relating to prohibiting public officers and employees from   displaying preferred gender pronouns; authorizing a private civil   right of action.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Subtitle A, Title 6, Government Code, is amended   by adding Chapter 620 to read as follows:   CHAPTER 620.  WOKE TERMINOLOGY PROHIBITED IN PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT          Sec. 620.001.  DEFINITIONS.  In this chapter:                (1)  "Governmental entity" means this state, a state   agency in the executive, judicial, or legislative branch of state   government, or a political subdivision of this state.                (2)  "Preferred gender pronouns" refer to sets of   pronouns that an individual wants others to use when referring to   that individual, often displayed in parentheses, such as   "(he/him)," "(she/her)," or "(they/them)."          Sec. 620.002.  PROHIBITED TERMINOLOGY IN PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT.   (a)  Notwithstanding any other law, no officer, employee,   volunteer, or agent of a governmental entity may do any of the   following in any document or communication made within the scope of   their employment or work with the governmental entity, or in any   e-mail sent from an account provided by the governmental entity:                (1)  List, display, or provide a hyperlink to a person's   preferred gender pronouns;                (2)  Describe elective abortions as "abortion care" or   "health care" of any sort;                (3)  Use any phrase that implies that men can become   pregnant, such as "pregnant persons," "pregnant individuals," or   "pregnant Texans";                (4)  Use the term "gender-affirming care" to describe   treatments that are inconsistent with an individual's biological   sex assigned at birth;                (5)  Refer to any transgender individual with a noun   that contravenes that individual's biological sex assigned at   birth, i.e., a biological man who identifies as a woman may not be   called a "transgender woman" or any phrase that implies that such an   individual actually is a woman;                (6)  Use the terms "cisgender" and "cissexual";                (7)  Refer to prostitutes as "sex workers."          (b)  Nothing in this section may be construed to restrict or   regulate in any way:                (1)  The off-the-job communications or correspondence   of an officer, employee, volunteer, or agent of a governmental   entity; or                (2)  Speech or conduct protected by the First Amendment   of the United States Constitution, as made applicable to the states   through the Supreme Court of the United States' interpretations of   the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution, or by   Article I, § 8 of the Texas Constitution.          Sec. 620.003.  PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION. (a)  Any person who   suffers injury in fact on account of a violation of section 620.002   has standing to bring and may bring a civil action against the   person who has violated or is violating section 620.002.  Sovereign   immunity, governmental immunity, official immunity, and qualified   immunity are waived and abolished in any action brought under this   section.          (b)  If a claimant prevails in an action brought under   Subsection (a), the court shall award:                (1)  declaratory and injunctive relief sufficient to   prevent the defendant from violating this chapter;                (2)  nominal damages;                (3)  compensatory damages if the plaintiff has suffered   damages from the defendant's conduct; and                (4)  costs and attorney's fees.          (c)  Notwithstanding any other law, a person may commence an   action under this section and relief may be granted regardless of   whether the person has sought or exhausted available administrative   remedies.          (d)  A defendant against whom an action is brought under this   section may assert an affirmative defense to liability under this   subsection if:                (1)  the enforcement of this chapter against the   defendant will violate constitutional or federally protected   rights that belong to the defendant personally; or                (2)  the defendant                      (A)  has standing to assert the rights of a third   party under the tests for third-party standing established by the   Supreme Court of the United States; and                      (B)  demonstrates that the enforcement of this   chapter against the defendant will violate constitutional or   federally protected rights belonging to that third party.          (e)  Notwithstanding any other law, a civil action under this   section shall not be subject to any provision of Chapter 27, Civil   Practice and Remedies Code, or Chapter 110, Civil Practice and   Remedies Code.          SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.