DEI ban in Texas public universities takes effect January 1
AUSTIN, Texas (KEYE) — One of the most controversial laws from Texas' legislative session is set totake effect on Monday, banning diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in public higher education.
That measure,Senate Bill 17, polarized lawmakers along party lines, with many Democrats lambasting the move arguing that it stifles diversity within the Texas workforce.
SB 17 drew contentious debate in the legislature's regular session before it was passed by Republicans. Before the bill's passage, some universities, including the University of Texas, had already paused their DEI initiatives after Gov. Greg Abbott's office reportedly began telling public institutions to stop taking diversity into consideration in the hiring process.
The bill's implementation on Monday, however, will solidify that pause.
Here are some other bills set to take effect:
- Small business tax cuts: Though not as high-profile as the property tax cuts passed by the legislature in July,Senate Bill 3from that same special session will increase the amount of franchise tax-exempt revenue for businesses from $1.235 million to $2.47 million. The bill's analysis reports that this will, effectively, remove from 67,000 small- to medium-sized businesses from paying franchise taxes.
- Texas retired teachers: After receiving voter approval in November,SB 10from the regular session will provide a cost-of-living adjustment, between 2 and 6%, to the Teacher Retirement System of Texas. With that as well, retired teachers will receive a one-time bonus to eligible retired teachers who are at least 75 years of age.
- Texas University Fund: Similarly being approved by voters in November, Texas will begin implementing the Texas University Fund throughHB 1595. This will allocate billions of dollars toward research-focused universities in the state, including Texas State University, Texas Tech University, University of North Texas and the University of Houston.
