AUSTIN (WBAP/KLIF News) — Nearly 400 people testified early Thursday morning on the Texas House’s version of the controversial bathroom bill.
Tom Giovanetti is the president of the Institute for Policy Innovation and testified this morning — he says the Texas Senate went too far with its version of the bill last month.
“Their response in Texas was to create a bill that really expands the power of the state government to tell people what bathrooms they’re allowed to use,” Giovanetti said. “And we thought that was the wrong approach.”
He says the Texas House’s version if better because it limits government intervention by telling cities they cannot pass certain anti-discriminatory ordinances, like one prohibiting transgender discrimination in schools.
Governor Greg Abbott said earlier this week he supports the House’s alternative and that he wants to get a version of the bill to his desk to sign.
Opponents of the bills in both the House and Senate say there could be a detrimental economic impact in the state, but Giovanetti says it’s simply a misguided belief that has been overblown.
“Facts should matter more than perception, and as I indicated, this House bill approach does not get involved in telling people which bathrooms to use,” he said. “So I think there’s a lot of misunderstanding.”
