House Passes Cyberbullying Bill to Abbott
after Effectively Exempting Political Attacks

Capitol Inside
May 12, 2021

The ruling Republicans who'd been bullied for years by their own national leader were sharply divided on Wednesday when the Texas House approved legislation that would make it a crime to use social media as a weapon for psychological intimidation and harassment.

The House sent Senate Bill 530 to Governor Greg Abbott on an 89-51 vote that featured 26 Republicans and all of the Democrats who were on the floor at the time. All of the opposing votes were cast by representatives for the GOP.

With GOP State Senator Joan Huffman of Houston as the lead author, SB 530 would add bullying online to the list of related offenses that are punishable by a Class B misdemeanor. The bill cleared the Senate on a unanimous vote. Democratic State Rep. Sheryl Cole of Austin carried the measure in the House.

But lawmakers inserted an escape clause that would effectively exempt them and other politicians from the measure as long as their tweets, posts and other forms of "electronic communications" were related to "a matter of public concern."

The legislation as a consequence would not appear to apply to Donald Trump - the ousted former president who's been kicked off the most popular social media sites for abusing his right of free speech with false claims and conspiracy theories that he's used to attack Republicans and Democrats alike.

GOP legislators in both chambers in Austin have appeared to be scared of saying anything or casting votes that could put them in the line of fire for Trump's revenge-fueled wrath. The Republicans' fear of Trump has been a phenomenon at a statehouse where no lawmakers for either party have ever been controlled by a president, governor or any other major leader who's been given the boot by the voters months earlier.

The Legislature took aim a young bullies in 2017 with the enactment of a law that gave public school officials the authority to discipline students for such behavior. It isn't clear if lawmakers here purposely waited for someone like Democratic President Joe Biden to be elected before moving forward with a bill like SB 530 that Trump might see as a veiled shot at him.

GOP Speaker Dade Phelan's team was split on SB 530 - with some of his top lieutenants like State Reps. Greg Bonnen of Friendswood, Briscoe Cain of Deer Park and Craig Goldman of Fort Worth voting against the measure along with the most conservative Republicans in the Capitol's west wing. Some of the speaker's other most influential allies like GOP State Reps. Dustin Burrows of Lubbock and Charlie Geren of Fort Worth voted aye on SB 530.

The legislation prohibits people from using social media and the Internet in general to "cause emotional distress, abuse, or torment to another person" with the prospects for jail time for offenders. The vote today cleared the way for a trip to the Republican governor's desk where it could be signed into law, vetoed or allowed to take effect without Abbott's signature.