AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas state lawmaker filed a bill Wednesday that would make “gender identity fraud” a criminal offense.
Rep. Tom Oliverson, who represents part of Harris County, authored House Bill 3817. The proposed law, if passed, would make it illegal for a person who presents as an opposite gender than the one assigned to them at birth to identify as the opposite to their employer or a governmental agency. The bill defines this as gender identity fraud.
The bill also seeks to make this offense a state jail felony. This means if found guilty, the person could face 180 days to two years in a state jail facility and up to a $10,000 fine.
If approved by both the House and Senate and signed by Gov. Greg Abbott, the bill would go into effect Sept. 1, 2025.
So far, HB 3817 does not have any sponsors and it has moved into any committees.