Speaker Straus: 'No I Won't' Block Texas Bathroom Bill
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AUSTIN,TX (CBSDFW.COM) -- Texas House Speaker Joe Straus has definitively said that he will not block the so-called Texas 'Bathroom Bill.'
Straus said while he opposes the bill, he won't keep it from getting a full vote in the Texas House.
Straus also said he won't pressure other house Republicans how to vote.
"I don't support it. But I remind people all the time. I'm one person out of 150," said Straus speaking to CBS 11's political reporter Jack Fink. "I don't think you're going to find members out there who will tell you I lean on them and vote 'for' something or 'against' something based on the district I come from," he continued.
Straus says the measure won't near a vote by the full house until after they vote on a state budget.
His comments this afternoon are his first publicly since the senate passed its bill last week. The bill now goes to the house.
It would require all public schools, colleges, and other government-owned buildings to require people use the bathroom matching their biological sex.
Stadiums and convention centers would be exempt.
Business and tourism groups have warned Texas could lose billions of dollars if the bill becomes law because those organizations could hold their events in other states.