A bill proposed in the Texas legislature could charge transgender Texans with a felony if they commit what proponents call “gender identity fraud.”

The Texas state legislature may soon consider whether transgender Texans can be charged with a felony for identifying as their preferred gender. A bill proposed by Houston-area Rep. Tom Oliverson asks to amend the state penal code to create a new crime of "gender identity fraud.

Lawmakers in the Texas Senate are debating a bill that would prohibit people in the state from changing the gender marker on their birth certificate.