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The so-called “bathroom bill” aimed at restricting transgender Texans’ access to some restrooms goes into effect this week. Republicans in the Legislature have been trying to enact such a measure for more than a decade; opponents are worried its unclear guidance on enforcement could cause cause public harassment.
There’s an upcoming benefit concert for Austin musician Rich Brotherton. We’ll hear from a few folks who know him well.
Plus: It’s Giving Tuesday! Learn how you can get involved with KUT, which is 100% community supported.
The full transcript of this episode of Austin Signal is available on the KUT & KUTX Studio website. The transcript is also available as subtitles or captions on some podcast apps.
Jerry Quijano [00:00:10] The Texas Bathroom Bill, aimed at restricting transgender Texans’ access to some restrooms in the state, goes into effect this week. Republicans in the state legislature have been trying to enact a measure like this for more than a decade. Opponents of the bill are worried it’s unclear guidance on how to enforce the policy could cause public harassment. We’ve got more about that story. Plus, there is an upcoming benefit concert for Austin musician Rich Brotherton. We’re gonna chat with a few folks who know him well about that upcoming show.
KUT Announcer: Laurie Gallardo [00:00:39] The Austin Signal is a production of K U T News, hosted by Jerry Quijano.
Jerry Quijano [00:00:44] And you might have heard by now, but it’s giving Tuesday. Just a reminder that Austin Signal is 100% community powered public radio. We’re going to chat more about ways you can get involved with our community. That’s next, right here on Austin Signal. On Thursday, the Texas bathroom bill will go into effect. For many transgender Texans, a big question remains ahead of that change. How is this going to be enforced? For more about that, we’re talking now with Ayden Runnels, a reporter at the Texas Tribune who has been following this story. Ayden, great to have you here on Austin Signal. Thank you so much for having me. We have known a little bit about SB 8, but for people who aren’t as familiar, this legislation is going to effect on Thursday. Was this passed during the recent regular or special session? And who spearheaded this effort?
Ayden Runnels [00:01:59] Yeah, absolutely. So Senate Bill eight was passed during the second special session. It was passed by the legislature in August and signed in September by Governor Greg Abbott. And it w it’s been spearheaded by the author of the bill, State Senator Mays Middleton and its House sponsor, Representative Angelia Orr. But it’s been part of a larger effort for the better part of a decade in this state. It’s sort of switched hands from Senator Lewis Cocors to Middleton over the years, and just Republican leaders in general.
Jerry Quijano [00:02:37] And you got a couple stories over at the Tribune that are up right now. One which you lay out pretty clearly which buildings are going to be affected by SB eight. Is this only limited to buildings that are run by state agencies?
Ayden Runnels [00:02:49] Yes, absolutely. So public agencies, Like The Department of Transportation, you know, Capitol buildings, like the Texas Capitol, but also city and county buildings. So city hall, county tax offices, things like that. But like private buildings, restaurants, malls, they won’t be affected.
Jerry Quijano [00:03:08] Which adds a little bit to the confusion around the the law, correct?
Ayden Runnels [00:03:11] Yeah, absolutely. And that’s sort of where a lot of the tension has come from from opponents of the bill is they’re worried that, you know, the layman, the average person going on the street, may not understand where this law begins and where it ends and that might create, you know, uncomfortable public confrontations or, you know, unnecessary situations.
Jerry Quijano [00:03:29] As you mentioned, this isn’t the first effort done here in Texas at a bathroom bill, and we’re seeing sort of a trend across the country. How many other states have enacted this sort of policy?
Ayden Runnels [00:03:40] Yeah, so about nineteen other states have some sort of bill and then Virginia has sort of a a statewide policy for their schools. I don’t think it’s a law, but it’s a policy. Texas is yes, it’s the twentieth state and it has the single largest financial penalty for institutions. Some states have a percentage reduction rate of funds for school districts if they violate the policy, but Texas has a flat rate of twenty-five thousand dollars for a first-time violation and a hundred twenty-five thousand dollars for every subsequent violation per day.
Jerry Quijano [00:04:12] Okay.
Ayden Runnels [00:04:12] And another important distinction with that is those there are no penalties whatsoever for people who go into these restrooms. Okay. These fines are only against the institutions, the public agencies where somebody enters the wrong restroom.
Jerry Quijano [00:04:27] Okay. That makes sense. That helps clear up things a little bit. H have we seen these sort of policies enforced in other states? You know, that was a question that we had at the the beginning. I think a lot of people are are wondering how this policy is going to be enforced. Have we seen enforcement in other states here in the U.S?
Ayden Runnels [00:04:44] There really is no major documented instance of these policies being implemented anywhere in the United States. There was a case out of Florida. Florida has the strictest bathroom bill in the country. It’s criminally has a think it’s a misdemeanor trespassing charge. And a woman in earlier this year was arrested. But she was released in June because the district attorney never brought charges against her. And so we never got to see what that case might have looked like. And there’s really been no documented cases, as far as I’m aware of or experts that I’ve talked to where an agency or school district has been majorly fined. So we really don’t know what a legal battle if somebody tries to challenge a fine might look like. We don’t know what the investigating case might look like in an instance. So this sort of unclear future for when enforcement might happen in Texas, there’s no frame of reference in other states.
Jerry Quijano [00:05:43] Okay, so we’ve talked a lot about the policy, the legislation. You talked to a number of Textans who are going to be impacted when this policy goes into effect on Thursday. What did you hear from them?
Ayden Runnels [00:05:53] Yeah. You know, when I started talking to folks, it was definitely fear. What was definitely an element of it, among the the trans folks that I’ve talked to, for this story and for others. But I think lately the term that I heard a lot was frustration and exhaustion. You know, in their eyes, this is just another bill or policy designed to sort of push them out of a public space. And so there’s a lot of resentment towards public officials who support this kind of legislation and just frustration, but also you know, resilience as well. One of the people I spoke to, Simon Shepard, for one of the stories that went up, told me, you know, he’s just gonna keep living on life the way he’s living, and if that means, you know, going to a bathroom that technically he’s not allowed to go in, then
Jerry Quijano [00:06:43] You know, so be it. Call I think your story called them reluctant fighters, people who have been sort of forced into this position. You can read more of the stories of those Texans who are going to be impacted at the Texas Tribune. We have been speaking with Ayden Runnels, a reporter for the Texas Tribune. That’s where you can find more of their reporting. Ayden, thank you for speaking with us on Austin Signal. All right, it is Giving Tuesday, which is a great reminder that KUT and KUTX and Austin Signal are one hundred percent community funded. And today we’re working on a twenty-five thousand dollar matching gift. Thanks to some great friends of the station for making their investment in KUT and KUTX. And they’re making your investment go twice as far. You can chip over, find all the details at KUT dot org. And on this Giving Tuesday, we’re joined by Jared Montes Slack, Senior Director of Development with I Live Here, I Give Here. Jared, thanks for taking some time today.
Jared Montes Slack [00:07:41] Jerry, you have no idea how good it feels to be here with you today.
Jerry Quijano [00:07:44] Well, it sounds like you had a pretty busy day. I’m guessing giving Tuesday is pretty hectic for you.
Jared Montes Slack [00:07:49] Yeah, it’s a big day for us. You know, really it’s it’s exciting when you have an opportunity to to energize an entire community around doing good. And, you know, I tell people all the time, like, I have the greatest job. Somehow I make a living off loving people. And I find that like to be really amazing that I get to have the opportunity to be in the world that I have in my life. But to also be in a great city like Austin, Central Texas, like it’s the dream to be here. And so today is exciting because it’s all about us giving back to this place that gives so much to us.
Jerry Quijano [00:08:21] I love that. You know, you you you have invigorated my day. People always ask what’s my dream job. I don’t know what the occupation would be, but loving on people definitely would be the dream description. So how how does I live here I give here how do they help Austinite Central Texas love on the community that they live in?
Jared Montes Slack [00:08:36] Absolutely, man. So, you know, I say a couple things a lot when I talk to people about the work that we do. And one of the things I say is that I live here, I give here our missions and the name. It’s right there. Imagine a community. Imagine a Central Texas, millions and millions of people from all walks of life, every single one of them being able to say, I live here. I give right here. And that that excites me to live in a community where everybody could be able to do that. And then also to know, like if everybody in my community has the capacity to give, then that means everybody in my community is doing pretty good.
Jerry Quijano [00:09:07] Yeah.
Jared Montes Slack [00:09:08] So it’s it’s not only just a desire that people would give back, it’s a desire that everybody in my city, in my community, would have the ability and access to getting to give back.
Jerry Quijano [00:09:20] Well, we always talk about asking for help being difficult. We ask for help a lot here on K U T, asking for people to support the work that we do. But we always also make mention that it actually feels good to do good, to give to give of yourself and to contribute to something greater than yourself. Can you speak to, you know, how how I live here, I give here and how Giving Tuesday allows people to build on that feeling.
Jared Montes Slack [00:09:40] Yeah, dude, a hundred percent. So, like, you know, one other another one of the same things I say to people all the time is like strong communities don’t happen by accident. It’s choice. It’s people deciding to put themselves in a new place. And for me, volunteerism, giving back, doing good. I have found myself in some of the most gnarly, amazing places because of that, right? Like you can get so stuck in your everyday life, getting up, going to work, coming home, making dinner, going to bed, getting up, going to work, coming home. You just do that over and over. And it becomes so like honestly boring. And you get into this like this tunnel vision rut. But man, whenever you take the the opportunity to step back and see that, dude, there’s some cool stuff happening in our community. And just by giving back, you can put your feet in a different place. And so, you know, for me, organizations I’m excited about in our community, places that I serve myself. These are this isn’t just me saying, Hey, these are cool places. Like these are places that have enriched my life. That you’re interested in. One of those is at Mobile O’s and Fishes. Great great friends over there. But I work with a crew of of friends of mine for about gosh, about six years now. We build tiny homes out there. And we’ve built about a hundred and fifty of these things out there. Okay. And every time I’m out there, my boots are in the dirt out that construction site, and we’re going from a slab to four walls and a roof. And I it to me, it enriches my life. Yeah, dude, it means waking up on a Saturday when I I’m a huge soccer fan. So like waking up on a Saturday morning and and having to miss out on watching Liverpool kick off or whatever it is, but I find myself standing out there with the sunlight on my face while I’ve got friends and some strangers that I just met today, building a house together, it’s worth it, dude. Because honestly, like, you know, you talk about things like sweat equity. Like I think that’s a part of it. Like I can have opinions about what’s going on in my city, in my state, in my wherever it is that I call home. But until I put myself in a place where I’m seeing like what’s really happening here in my community, you know, like just recently I live here, I give here. We launched a giving day called Amplify Home. It was back in October. And it was because we heard that there’s 2,500 children in our city experiencing homelessness every single day. And I can have opinions about that or I can do something about that. And I think giving Tuesday is the perfect day. Any day, really, but giving Tuesday is the perfect day to say to myself, I can have opinions, but I can also do something.
Jerry Quijano [00:12:15] Well we have about a minute left, so I want to ask we know that lots of nonprofits, ourselves included, have been affected by federal budget cuts. What are you hearing from the groups that you’re working with about how they’re being impacted by these cuts?
Jared Montes Slack [00:12:26] Absolutely. I mean, you what we’re seeing right now a lot with our nonprofits is, and I I don’t use this word lightly, and I’m gonna say it, a scrambling. Because right now, like what it feels like to many of our local nonprofits, it feels like the rug’s been yanked out from under them. That that traditionally we’ve had support coming in from federal, from private, from public, and all of that is shifting and changing. And my message to nonprofits is and to people in our community, I’m not sure we’re going back. I think that going forward in our communities, we are going to have to come to a reckoning of if we want beautiful green spaces, if we want people to have dignified lives, if we want the animals in our communities to have nice homes, it’s gonna require the best of all of us and generosity from all of us. From every walk of life, from every corner of opinion, it’s gonna take the best of us and to give back.
Jerry Quijano [00:13:16] All right, we’ve been speaking with Jared Montes Slack, Senior Director of Development with I Live Here, I Give Here. Thank you, Jared. And thank you for tuning in. This is Austin Signal. We will be back in just one moment. Welcome back and thank you for tuning in to Austin Signal. We hope you’re having a fantastic Tuesday. A big group of Austin artists are putting their talents together for a night of music for Austin guitarist and producer Rich Brotherton, who’s been diagnosed with ALS. It’s happening next week at the Paramount Theater. We’ve got three of the artists on the bill joining us today here on Austin Signal Andrea Magee, Pat Byrne, and Scrappy Judd Newcomb. Welcome to the show. Thank you for being here.
Andrea Magee [00:13:55] Thank you so much for having us.
Jerry Quijano [00:13:56] Yes, thank you. So I wanted to start it off just as early as possible, and ask you all if you remember the first time that you met Rich or perhaps the first time you might have played music with him, Andrea?
Andrea Magee [00:14:08] Yeah, so I think ours we were working this out seven years or so ago. I’m in a band with Rich called Ulla and I think we met at our first rehearsal actually Pat wa had the idea to put Ulla together. Ulla’s a a group that plays Irish traditional music and obviously Rich is heavily steeped in in that and everything else. So yeah, I met him at our very first rehearsal and it was we just hit it off and we’ve been in that band ever since and it’s been beautiful.
Jerry Quijano [00:14:36] What about you, Pat?
Pat Byrne [00:14:37] Yeah, I I moved to town in twenty seventeen and was looking for a producer to produce my first record and everybody recommended Rich Brotherton because he’d spent so much time in Ireland and loved Irish folk music and kind of was probably one of the first people I met in town and just has been a great mentor to me and b obviously we play together on Sundays and just a great friend and massively talented person.
Jerry Quijano [00:15:01] Scrappy?
Scrappy Jud Newcomb [00:15:02] I met him I worked for Rich when I met him in the late nineteen eighties. He was my boss at a at a call research company or or a market research company. And and quickly w we made bonded over over music and I’ve been in awe of him ever since. We’ve had many, many adventures over there.
Jerry Quijano [00:15:24] The year. Well for folks who do not know Rich’s music, we’ve got a song from the new Oula record called Oula Two. This is the Streets of Dairy.
Rich Brotherton [00:15:37] Well after morning there comes an evening and after even another day and after a false love there comes a true love I’ll have you listen down to what I say My love is as fair young man as fine as
Jerry Quijano [00:16:19] Well tell us about this this concert happening tonight for Rich Brotherton. Who’s coming into town? It’s gonna be happening at the Paramount. Who who’s joining in on the celebration?
Andrea Magee [00:16:29] Wow, yeah, the lineup is insane. So we have Lal Lovett, Lyden Wainwright, Charlie Crockett, Patty Griffin.
Scrappy Jud Newcomb [00:16:38] So many
Jerry Quijano [00:16:39] Yeah.
Andrea Magee [00:16:40] Mary Goucher, Eliza Gilkison, Christine Albert.
Scrappy Jud Newcomb [00:16:43] Butch Hancock, Jimmy Dale Gilmore.
Andrea Magee [00:16:45] It’s just it and it was so it’s been such a quick turnaround ’cause, you know, we wanted it to be a really celebratory event for Rich and we wanted Rich to be a big part of it. So that’s why we decided to put it together in such a quick space of time. And it’s everybody it’s been a the quickest yes you can ever imagine. Everybody is wanting to be a part of it because of how incredible Rich is. It’s a testament to him.
Jerry Quijano [00:17:08] How how quickly has the event come together?
Andrea Magee [00:17:10] It’s in the last ten days.
Pat Byrne [00:17:13] Yeah. It went on sale one week ago and it’s pretty much It’s almost sold out.
Jerry Quijano [00:17:17] Oh wow. Okay. We had the Jim Ritz, the CEO of the Austin Theater Alliance. He actually pitched us to speak with y’all. I guess that was last week already. So that it has really he he he let us know as quickly as possible. So I also saw that Jody Denberg, our old colleague here at K U T X, is gonna be MCing the night. So lots of great names on that bill and lots of folks pitching in, as you said, really quickly, to honor Rich, to celebrate his music, his life, him as a person. What does that say about him that people are willing to drop everything, drop the hat and show up in in Austin and and and and play and play for him?
Pat Byrne [00:17:52] Well, he’s a firstly a great person and people want to be around him, but secondly his talent is just kinda undeniable. Everyone’s played with him, he’s touched everyone in this community has had some kind of run in with Rich in a very positive way. And this could have been like a three day festival because yeah. We ha we weren’t able to squeeze in all the people that could be.
Jerry Quijano [00:18:10] There’s only one stage, right? I mean there’s a the Paramount, it’s not it’s it’s a great big stage, but it’s it’s still can only hold so many humans. Unfortunately.
Scrappy Jud Newcomb [00:18:17] Yeah. It’s gonna be a long show. It’s gonna be a three and a half hour plus show, so
Andrea Magee [00:18:22] And everyone on the bill has a personal connection to Rich, you know, as we say, he has played and been an architect for so many of these people’s music and signs so and on all the records. So it’s gonna be
Rich Brotherton [00:18:33] A shame or scandal for a man to die upon the gallows tree. He looked around and he saw her common, and she was dressed all in woolen spine the weary steed his love was right. Morso.
Jerry Quijano [00:19:12] With please. Seven.
Rich Brotherton [00:19:14] Yeah.
Jerry Quijano [00:19:16] W what do you think is is the power in music and celebrating it in s together with a whole bunch of people? Why do you think that we search that out? Why do you think it’s so powerful?
Andrea Magee [00:19:25] I mean music for me is just it it it brings down all the walls, right? There’s no there’s nothing else like it. And I I feel like it cuts through everything, no matter if you want to feel or you don’t want to feel, music will make you feel. So I think it has deep, deep healing qualities. So much so I have a I started a non profit and that’s the non profit that is going to be awarding the grant to Rich at the end of the evening or at the end of the fundraising campaign. It’s called Music Helps and it utilizes the healing power of music on any form of trauma. And I have witnessed it my entire life and then just first hand with all of the work that I’ve ever done. I just it’s undeniably powerful and I don’t even think we’ve tapped in properly to what it can do.
Scrappy Jud Newcomb [00:20:08] Yeah, yeah, I mean a and it and it is such a p primary part of Rich’s being, you know, that this is this is the best way to to celebrate him and or or one of the very best ways to celebrate him. And and it’s it’s it’s imp it’s it’s impossible to feel too too down, you know, when on a on a night like this. It it is it’s a celebration. It’s a you know, every every you know, nothing stands still, time keeps marching on, but but music can stop time for a little bit, you know, and and we’ll all live in that beautiful few hours, you know.
Jerry Quijano [00:20:46] Yeah. And it is a a one night event. Tickets might be selling out. Are there other ways that people can help out rich in this time of need?
Andrea Magee [00:20:53] Yeah, we do have a fundraising campaign running at the same time. So if you don’t get one of those tickets, I think we’re down to like sixty seventy at this point, so
Pat Byrne [00:21:02] Yeah. But there is a fundraising campaign and it’s music helps at x dot org forward slash rich brotherton fundraiser. Oh wow, he remembered that off the time. Yeah, yeah.
Andrea Magee [00:21:18] But yeah, so our goal with this event is to support Rich and his family in a financial way so that we can help with any difficulties that are about to come in the future. So we want to really give them something healthy to walk away with that is gonna, you know, just help as much as possible. So we know that the the Paramount event is gonna really help, but on top of that, we know Rich has reached far and wide. So not everybody can travel to Austin for this event. So this fundraiser is an opportunity for everybody who wants to support Rich to to pitch in and so we can help them through a difficult time.
Jerry Quijano [00:21:56] Excellent. Well we can include a a link to that fundraiser in the show notes for Austin Signal for today’s episode. Thank you. Is there anything else about the event about Rich that I haven’t asked you about that you would like to put out there? Also there’s some beautiful
Scrappy Jud Newcomb [00:22:10] T shirts that will be for the event and i in the case that they don’t sell out at the event, I imagine we can get ’em. Absolutely.
Andrea Magee [00:22:18] And you know, Rich plays with Pat and I every Sunday and Scrappy every Sunday. So if you can’t make the event and you are in the Austin area, the Purgatory players play every Sunday at eleven thirty.
Scrappy Jud Newcomb [00:22:29] Yes.
Andrea Magee [00:22:30] El Mercado, all for the Austin Food Bank?
Scrappy Jud Newcomb [00:22:32] That’s Central Texas. Yeah.
Andrea Magee [00:22:33] Central track. Yeah. And then if you don’t make that, you can come over to the Saxon pub at five thirty. That’s where we will be playing with Rich. For the foreseeable future on a Sunday at five thirty if you enjoy Irish music. So there’s opportunities for you to keep coming and give ’em.
Jerry Quijano [00:22:48] Yeah, yeah. Fantastic. Well, we have been speaking with Andrea Magee, Pat Byrne, and Scrappy Judd Newcombe. They are part of the bill for the Night for Rich Brotherton. That is happening December 9th at the Paramount. We’re gonna have more information in the show notes for today’s episode. Thank you all for being here today. Thank you. Thank you. And for more about the stories that we covered today on Austin Signal, we’re gonna have links in our show notes. You can find that at K U T.org slash Signal. And that’s it for today’s episode. Thank you for spending part of your Tuesday here with us. Thank you to Ayden Runnels from the Texas Tribune for coming on the show. And thank you to managing producer Kristen Cabrera, Technical Director Rayna Sevilla, and Jimmy Mass, our show runner. I’m Jerry Quijano, your host. Don’t forget it’s Giving Tuesday. We are community powered public radio. We cannot do what we do every single day without the help of people like you. So thank you for giving us your money. Thank you for giving us your attention, and thank you for spending some time with us. We will talk to you tomorrow. This is Austin Signal.
This transcript was transcribed by AI, and lightly edited by a human. Accuracy may vary. This text may be revised in the future.
