HB 229 mandates that all Texas government agencies define and collect sex-based data using strictly binary, biologically grounded terms. It inserts specific definitions of "man," "woman," "male," "female," and related terms into state statute and compels agencies to classify individuals accordingly. While framed as a clarification, the bill instead enshrines rigid, government-enforced identity standards into law.

Individual Identity Should Not Be Legislated by the State
The Libertarian Party of Texas (LPTexas) strongly believes that individuals are the sole proprietors of their own identity (Platform § I.1.a, § I.4.a). HB 229 places the state in the position of determining personal identity through biological criteria—an unjustified intrusion into individual autonomy. Government should not be in the business of defining or policing who someone is.

Government Data Collection Should Be Minimal and Voluntary
This bill also expands mandatory data collection practices by requiring all government entities to classify individuals strictly as male or female when collecting vital statistics (Platform § I.4.a). LPTexas opposes excessive data collection and state tracking of personal information. This kind of legislation does not reduce government—it expands it under the guise of traditionalism.

Freedom Means Freedom for Everyone
While HB 229 claims to protect women's spaces and clarify public policy, it does so by empowering the state to enforce identity norms rather than allowing voluntary association or private solutions. LPTexas believes that issues of privacy, safety, and fairness are best addressed through consensual, decentralized, and context-specific decisions—not blanket mandates from Austin.

Conclusion
The Libertarian Party of Texas opposes HB 229. It expands the scope of government power into personal identity and data classification, violating principles of individual liberty, privacy, and limited government. Texans should be free to define themselves, and no law should empower the state to reduce identity to biology alone. We urge lawmakers to reject this unnecessary and intrusive legislation.