Texas bill would charge transgender people with ‘fraud’

Transgender Texans could be charged with fraud under state legislation filed this month that seeks to make publicly identifying as trans illegal. 

House Bill 3817, introduced last week by Republican state Rep. Tom Oliverson, would add “gender identity fraud” to the Texas Penal Code, punishable by up to two years in jail and a fine of up to $10,000. 

The new offense would make it a state felony for a person to identify their sex at birth incorrectly to an employer or governmental entity, which transgender rights advocates say would prevent trans people from applying for jobs, benefits or accurate identity documents. 

Oliverson did not immediately return a request for comment on the bill, which currently has no co-sponsors or scheduled committee hearings.  

The Houston-area Republican has introduced or co-sponsored more than a dozen bills targeting transgender Texans since his election to the state Legislature in 2017. This session, Oliverson has signed onto proposals that would bar trans women from entering public women’s restrooms and make it simpler to sue a person who helps with a minor’s social transition — nonmedical steps to align with their gender identity. 

Texas lawmakers have introduced nearly 170 bills that threaten to roll back LGBTQ rights, according to Equality Texas, a state LGBTQ advocacy group. 

The language in Oliverson’s House Bill 3817 mirrors efforts by President Trump’s administration to both deny the existence of transgender people and equate trans and gender-nonconforming identities with deception. 

An administration official told reporters last month that transgender women traveling to the U.S. to compete in women’s sports competitions will be investigated for “fraud” under an executive order signed Feb. 5. Another order states that it is a “false claim” that a person can change their gender. 

A Jan. 27 executive order claims transgender people cannot serve in the military because their identity “conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle.”