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Governor Vetoes Equal Pay For Women Bill

State Senator Wendy Davis
Wendy Davis campaign
/
KERA News
State Senator Wendy Davis

State Senator Wendy Davis, a Fort Worth Democrat, says she was surprised and saddened to learn Gov. Rick Perry has vetoed a bill she sponsored which sought to prevent pay discrimination against women in Texas.

Davis says the legislation she carried would have aligned Texas law with federal law by giving women in Texas more time to take action if they believed they were the victims of pay discrimination.

She says the veto of House Bill 950 leaves in place a standard that makes it nearly impossible for Texas women to fight discrimination.

“Women may work in a job many months, some years before they realize a male counterpart is being paid more than they are being paid for the same qualifications and for performing the same job.” said Davis.

“And if a woman didn’t discover that within her first 180 days of employment she has no cause of action in the State of Texas,” she said.

Davis says a bipartisan group of lawmakers passed the equal pay bill and nearly every other state has adopted similar legislation.

Gov. Perry has not yet publicly explained why he vetoed the bill. 

Former KERA staffer Shelley Kofler was news director, managing editor and senior reporter. She is an award-winning reporter and television producer who previously served as the Austin bureau chief and legislative reporter for North Texas ABC affiliate WFAA-TV.