The Texas House has preliminarily passed HB2462, according to reporting from Jezebel and the Texas Tribune, granting all mothers—including expecting mothers—use of the high occupancy vehicle lanes in the state even if they are the only person in the vehicle. Authored and introduced by Plano Republican Jeff Leach, the bill was initially developed as a way to enshrine fetal personhood in state law, as its coverage was limited to pregnant women. Austin-area Democrat Gina Hinojosa took the opportunity to expand the bill to cover “female operators of a motor vehicle who is pregnant or is a parent or legal guardian of another person.”
In July 2022, weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the federal case legalizing access to abortion, Roe v. Wade, a 34-weeks pregnant Brandy Bottone of Plano, Tex. was ticketed for driving in the HOV lane without a passenger, twice. Her argument for doing so was that under Texas’ new abortion legislation, her unborn fetus was the passenger she needed to comply with HOV lane regulations. A staunchly anti-choice Rep. Leach took the viral legal battle as a rallying cry, introducing this bill to the chamber. Leach said the bill “elevates motherhood” and he hopes it will continue Texas’ commitment to “promote a culture of life.” When the amendment to include all mothers was proposed on the floor Leach admitted he’d welcome it, adding “I think HOV lanes are stupid anyway.”
The Texas House of Representatives has 150 members, of which Republicans hold 88 seats. The bill was likely to be handed off to the state senate regardless, even without a single Democrat voting it through, as it merely required a simple majority to pass.
The vote
By taking an opportunity to expand the bill to all mothers, Texas Dems found common ground to perhaps provide a minor convenience for women in the state with what little power they wield, or maybe end the bill altogether. It’s possible that by making the bill so wide-ranging the GOP will either be forced to kill the bill in the Senate or by Governor Greg Abbott’s veto. Somewhat ironically, if the bill became law, it could be classified as discriminatory on the basis of gender, which could potentially run Texas afoul of Federal Highway Administration regulations and risk a portion of the state’s federal funding being revoked.
According to the March of Dimes, around 86% of American women who live beyond the end of their childbearing years become mothers. There isn’t any specific documentation specific to the state of Texas, but it seems demographically likely that number is higher. If the bill were to become law, it seems nearly every woman in Texas would have legal protection for driving in the HOV lane without a passenger. And for the 14% or less of non-mother Texan women, that means police would effectively no longer have any reason to suspect a woman in the HOV lane wasn’t a mother, and could no longer pull you over or provide a ticket for the so-called offense. If half of all Texans can suddenly use the HOV lane without issue, it just becomes a normal lane.
Republicans who don’t actually care about making your commute easier want to use this as a way to enshrine more legal protections for an unborn fetus, but it might accidentally cause a traffic crisis.
