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Senate passes House Bill 1106 on child abuse definitions after floor debate over LGBTQ youth protections
Summary
The Senate approved House Bill 1106, which revises definitions of child abuse and neglect, after floor debate in which Senator Menendez and others warned the measure could harm LGBTQ youth. The bill passed on final reading per the roll call printed on the floor.
The Senate on May 20 passed House Bill 1106, relating to the definitions of child abuse and neglect, after a floor debate in which opponents said the measure could harm LGBTQ youth; the measure passed on final reading, 29 ayes and 11 nays, according to the senator-appointed roll call.
Senator Menendez spoke in opposition on the floor, saying the bill “doesn't promote the safe supportive environment that all children are entitled to” and urging colleagues to vote no. He warned the bill could remove protections for LGBTQ youth and said that excluding acknowledgment of a child's preferred pronouns or name from an abuse definition could cause “irreparable harm.”
“Members, where could this lead us to? I think it could lead us to more LGBTQ plus youth self harm and suicide,” Senator Menendez said on the floor, and he cited statistics he attributed to recent studies and advocacy groups. He read a passage he identified as from The Trevor Project: “LGBTQ young people are not inherently prone to suicide risk because of their ****** orientation or gender identity, but rather placed at a higher risk because of how they are mistreated and stigmatized in society.”
Senator Menendez also warned that the bill could open the door to conversion therapy, calling it “a dangerous and discredited” practice and saying some researchers consider it “a form of child abuse and human rights violation.” He described downstream harms including youth homelessness and increased vulnerability to exploitation.
Senator Cook responded on the floor, saying “no child in Texas has ever been removed, because their parents affirmed or or misgendered them,” and argued the bill’s language could make it harder for complaints from LGBTQ children to be considered. Senator Hall moved final passage before the roll call that recorded the 29–11 result.
The debate on the floor included extended remarks and statistical claims by opponents about suicide risk and the effect of anti‑transgender laws; those claims were attributed to senators during debate. The Senate’s action was a final passage vote on the captured House bill as announced on the chamber floor.
The measure will proceed according to the Legislature’s process for enrolled house bills after final passage on the Senate floor.
