By the time Senate Bill 8 — Texas' so-called "bathroom bill" — went into effect on Dec. 4, gender neutral restroom signage at UT Austin had already been replaced.
The law requires people to use public restrooms aligned with the sex assigned to them at birth. Supporters of SB 8, including Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, have called it a "common sense" policy that would protect women across the state by ensuring "no men in women's restrooms."
It only applies to public facilities, including government buildings, public libraries and parks.
But besides updating bathroom signage, it's unclear how the law will be enforced.
Ash Hall, a policy and advocacy strategist with the ACLU of Texas, said they are "holding their breath" as the law gets rolled out across Austin.
"Any time we're in a government-owned or operated building ... there's a chance that we're going to be stopped, harassed, reported, asked to leave," Hall said. "We just don't know what to expect."
Individuals will not be held liable for using the "wrong" restroom, but the bill states the Texas attorney general will fine political subdivisions, like Travis County, the city of Austin and the University of Texas at Austin, if they violate the law. Fines start at $25,000 for the first offense and swell to $125,000 for subsequent offenses.
How is the law being enforced?
Over the weekend, a group of transgender activists tested how the Texas Department of Public Safety would enforce the law at the Capitol.
The group used the restroom, at first, without issue and then moved to the rotunda for a peaceful protest. The activists said several DPS troopers blocked certain individuals in the group from using the restroom a second time and asked to see IDs.
Caleb Armstrong and Chase Brunson, co-founders of Local Queer who both identify as trans men and helped lead the protest, said they were not asked to show their IDs to use the men's restroom.
But Ry Vazquez, a transgender woman, said she was singled out. Vazquez said DPS was unevenly enforcing the law and "making up the rules on the fly."
"It seemed like they were not given guidance on how to enforce this bill or enforce this new policy that had been put in place," she said. "A lot of them were flying by the seat of their pants."
A DPS trooper later cited Vazquez, along with three other demonstrators, with criminal trespass warnings, which bans them from Capitol grounds for one year.
Armstrong said the incident at the Capitol was one of the first examples of how the new law will push trans people out of public life.
"It's not only about the bathrooms," he said. "It makes it so you can't go to your kid's band concert because you're not allowed to use the bathroom that aligns with who you are at their school. Or you can't go spend a day at the public park because you're terrified to go into the restroom."
UT Austin swiftly changed its signage
On the UT Austin campus, at least one gender-neutral, bathroom with multiple stalls has been changed to a women's restroom. a
The university also implemented a new bathroom policy on Nov. 25.
The language mirrors that of the law and explicitly states "females" and "males" — as they are defined in the bill — can enter spaces designated by sex, such as restrooms, locker rooms or changing rooms.
A spokesman for UT Austin did not directly answer questions about how the new policy would be enforced.
Travis County officials did not specify how they plan to enforce the law, but said the county "will follow all state laws and regulations passed by the Texas Legislature," in a statement to KUT.
Austin City Council Member Mike Siegel said the law puts governmental entities in a "cruel position" — to either protect constituents or avoid hefty fines.
"It treats our transgender and nonbinary community as political footballs to be used for electoral gain by the Republican party," Siegel said. "There is no sound basis for these laws in crime, stats or any other sort of evidence."
Siegel authored a resolution, which passed unanimously Thursday, that would explore making city restrooms welcoming for the trans community while still complying with state law.
Siegel said one option is adding single-occupancy restrooms to every city facility, a move that could cost more than $14 million, according to a city memo. Siegel also proposed making all city restrooms single-occupancy. This would require all stalls to be retrofitted into a single room with a privacy lock, take many years and could cost $232.5 million.
Of the city's 1,379 restrooms, 604 are single-occupancy.
He said the city would consider taking legal recourse if it needs to defend itself from the state.
"If Senate Bill 8 remains the law of the land as it is right now, how can we ensure that city of Austin facilities are welcoming and guarantee the privacy and dignity of all community members?" Siegel said. "That's the starting point, right?"
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