Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has called a special legislative session to address the deadly floods that have left 134 people dead and 101 others missing. However, in preparation for the session, state GOP lawmakers have filed 82 measures, none of which address the flooding. Instead, they seek to ban transgender women from using womens facilities (and Abbott personally supports the idea).In Abbotts proclamation for the special session, he laid out 18 priorities. The first four addressed the need for improved emergency warning, communication, and aid systems. The other priorities included further restricting abortions and election access, gerrymandering the state electoral map to favor Republicans, and legislation protecting womens privacy in sex-segregated spaces. Related Republicans join Democrats to repeal Texas anti-sodomy law Democrats have been trying to repeal the law since 1983. The state constitution says legislators can only file bills related to the governors priorities, but Republican legislators havent filed any bills related to the deadly floods, KXAN reported. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Instead, Republican state Rep. Valoree Swanson filed H.B. 32, which would require people only to use facilities in public schools, state universities, government-owned buildings, jails, and family violence shelters that match the biological sex assigned on their original birth certificate. Texas recently changed its laws to forbid transgender people from changing the gender markers on their birth certificates and drivers licenses.Anyone who allows the proposed law to be violated could be subject to civil fines from $5,000 to $25,000, as well as additional penalties. Swanson filed a similar bill during the previous legislative session, but it failed to pass after missing several legislative deadlines, Chron reported.Three other special session bills, H.B. 37, 65, and 70, would punish any person or internet service provider who aids or abets the distribution of abortion medication.H.B. 38, introduced by Democratic state Rep. Jessica Gonzalez (who is also chair of the Texas House LGBTQ Ca ucus), would prohibit workplace, housing, and public accommodations discrimination against LGBTQ+ people, but theres no way itll pass the states Republican-majority legislative chambers. Its also unclear how the bill relates to Abbotts list of priorities. I am proud to have filed H.B. 38 in preparation for the upcoming special session of our legislature, Gonzlez wrote in a statement on Tuesday. H.B. 38 is a comprehensive nondiscrimination bill that would codify equal protection for the LGBTQ+ community and military veterans in employment, housing, and public accommodations.During the last legislative session, Texas Republicans filed 88 anti-LGBTQ+ bills, four of which became law, including a ban on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in public schools and one mandating peoples genders be legally determined by their reproductive organs. TheTexasHouse voted torepealthe states anti-sodomy law, but Republicans prevented the repeal from getting a vote in thestate Senate.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.