Spurred by a groundswell of far-right support, the Texas Senate has passed all of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s priority LGBTQ bills — and then some. What the House does next will impact queer Texans’ lives and could determine Speaker Phelan’s future.

The Texas Legislature has nine lawmakers who are openly LGBTQ, all Democrats. At the same time, some Republican lawmakers are pushing a slate of bills aimed at drag queens, transgender children and how sexuality is discussed in schools.

Their vacation does not affect the lack of quorum that the House has in Austin that prevents the chamber from passing an elections bill. But it is at odds with Democrats’ insistence that they would use their time away to advocate for federal voting rights legislation in the nation’s capital.

González, of Dallas, and fellow state Rep. Nicole Collier, D-Fort Worth, discussed Senate Bill 7, which failed to pass during the regular legislative session, and what's next for legislators.

González, of Dallas, and fellow state Rep. Nicole Collier, D-Fort Worth, discussed Senate Bill 7, which failed to pass during the regular legislative session, and what's next for legislators.

This legislative session, some legislators are trying to pass bills that would prohibit conversion therapy and discrimination against LGBTQ Texans. She plans to introduce a bill that would provide protections for LGBTQ Texans from discrimination in employment, public accommodations and housing. Ad“We're facing a global pandemic, and aside from passing nondiscrimination legislation because it’s the right thing to do, there is good policy there,” said González, the vice chair of the Texas House LGBTQ Caucus. State Rep. Celia Israel, D-Austin, filed House Bill 560, which would penalize state-licensed counselors and therapists who engage in conversion therapy with children. That in it of itself is a victory,” said Israel, a founding member of the Texas House LGBTQ Caucus.

Editor’s note: This coverage is made possible through Votebeat, a nonpartisan reporting project covering local election integrity and voting access. He was thrilled by Texas’ lengthy early voting period — which had been expanded from two weeks to three weeks because of the pandemic. Most of them are aimed at increasing voter access, which lawmakers said became a more urgent issue during the pandemic. The idea that high turnout only helps Democrats is one of the biggest hills to climb for changes like online voter registration — but that may change after this year, said Grayson, who advocates for automatic voter registration programs for one of his firm’s clients. Most legislation expanding access has been filed by Democrats, while GOP legislation focuses largely on stemming fraud.