Texas Drag Show Ban: What SB 12 Covers, Penalties, and Enforcement

The Texas drag show ban, formally Senate Bill 12, is currently enforceable. On February 25, 2026, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the federal injunction that had blocked the law since 2023, and no court order presently prevents the state from prosecuting performers or fining venues. The case has been sent back to the district court for a fresh constitutional analysis, but until that court rules again, SB 12 is live law.¹

Is the Ban in Effect Right Now

Yes. For roughly two years after SB 12 was signed, a permanent injunction from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas kept the state from enforcing it. That court, after a two-day bench trial, found the law facially unconstitutional under the First Amendment and, alternatively, unconstitutionally vague.¹ No charges or fines were issued during that period.

The Fifth Circuit did not declare SB 12 constitutional. It ruled that the district court used the wrong legal frameworks and instructed the lower court to reconsider the First Amendment claims under the Supreme Court’s Moody framework and the vagueness challenge under Roy. Because the appeals court vacated the injunction rather than modifying it, the legal shield is gone while that reconsideration plays out. The Texas Attorney General’s office has publicly stated it can now enforce the law.²

If the district court again finds the law unconstitutional under the corrected analysis, a new injunction could follow. Until it does, performers and venue operators should treat SB 12 as active.

What the Law Actually Prohibits

SB 12 never uses the word “drag.” It regulates what it calls a “sexually oriented performance,” defined as a visual performance that features either a nude performer or a performer engaged in “sexual conduct,” and that appeals to the prurient interest in sex.³ Both elements have to be present. A show with suggestive costuming but no prurient appeal does not, on the face of the statute, qualify.

“Sexual conduct” is defined broadly. It covers simulated or actual sex acts, the lewd display of genitals in an aroused state, the exhibition of devices marketed for sexual stimulation, simulated sexual contact with another person’s body, and sexual gesturing while using accessories or prosthetics that exaggerate sexual characteristics.³ The last category is the one that draws the most attention in the drag context, because padded costumes and exaggerated body features are common in drag performance and could be argued to fall within that language.

The prurient interest requirement is borrowed from federal obscenity law, but SB 12 does not adopt the full three-part Miller test. That mismatch is part of what the courts are still working through.⁴ Because the boundaries of the definition are contested, any performance that arguably touches the listed conduct carries some risk while the law is enforceable.

Where and When the Ban Applies

The law reaches three settings:

Public property. Any land or building owned by a state or local government entity: parks, libraries, community centers, public university facilities. Sexually oriented performances are prohibited on public property, and cities and counties cannot authorize them.⁵
Commercial premises where a minor is present. Bars, nightclubs, restaurants, event halls, and any other business face liability if anyone under 18 is in the audience during a covered performance.³
Anywhere else a minor is present. Even outside a commercial setting, a performer commits a criminal offense by staging a covered performance in front of someone under 18. Compensation is irrelevant; a paid gig, a tipped set, and a free volunteer appearance all carry the same exposure.³

An adults-only show at a private venue on private property is outside SB 12’s reach. The law does not regulate what consenting adults watch in an age-restricted private setting, and that is where most Texas drag performances have continued to operate.

Penalties for Performers

A performer who stages a sexually oriented performance on public property or in front of a minor commits a Class A misdemeanor under new Section 43.28 of the Texas Penal Code.³ Under the Penal Code’s general classification, a Class A misdemeanor carries up to one year in county jail, a fine of up to $4,000, or both.⁶ Whether the performer was paid does not change the exposure.

Penalties for Venue Operators

A person who controls a commercial venue and allows a sexually oriented performance in front of a minor faces a civil penalty of up to $10,000 per violation.³ Each performance is a separate violation. The Texas Attorney General is the designated enforcer and can sue to recover the penalty, obtain a court injunction against ongoing violations, and collect court costs, attorney’s fees, and investigative expenses on top of the penalty. Actions can be filed in Travis County or in any county where the violation occurred.

SB 12 itself does not grant the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission enforcement authority over these violations, but existing regulations already let the agency act against establishments where illegal activity occurs, so repeat problems could feed into a liquor license proceeding.

What Falls Outside SB 12

Two categories of performance are not reached by the statute:

A performance that does not meet both prongs of the definition. Costume, gender presentation, lip-syncing, and dance are not, by themselves, “sexual conduct” under the statute. The final enrolled bill removed the introduced language that would have covered cross-gender presentation as such, replacing it with the conduct-based definition described above.³
A performance in a private, adults-only setting on private property. The public-property clause does not apply, and neither does the minors clause if the door is enforced.

Age verification at the door is the single most effective step for staying outside both the civil and criminal provisions when a show could arguably meet the definition.

Other Texas Laws That Still Apply

Even if SB 12 were ultimately struck down, some conduct remains illegal under long-standing Texas statutes. Public lewdness prohibits sexual contact or intercourse in a public place or where it could be observed. Indecent exposure covers intentionally exposing genitals in circumstances likely to alarm or offend. Neither is affected by the Woodlands Pride litigation.

Cities and counties keep independent authority under Local Government Code Section 243.0031 to regulate sexually oriented performances to promote public health, safety, or welfare.⁵ Local permitting, zoning, and conduct rules can stack on top of whatever the state law ultimately requires, so a venue check should include the city or county code, not just the state statute.

What to Watch Next

The case that produced the vacated injunction, The Woodlands Pride, Inc. v. Paxton (No. 23-20480), is back before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.¹ The lower court now has to re-examine the First Amendment claim under Moody and the vagueness claim under Roy. Three outcomes are possible: a new injunction that blocks the law again, a ruling upholding SB 12 that clears the way for full enforcement, or a partial ruling that narrows how the statute can be applied.

Until the district court speaks, the law is enforceable, the penalties above are on the table, and the safest posture for performers and venue operators is to treat SB 12 as active law and plan around its restricted settings rather than around the older injunction.

1
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Woodlands Pride, Inc. v. Paxton, No. 23-20480
2
Office of the Attorney General of Texas. Attorney General Ken Paxton Successfully Defends Law Protecting Children From Being Exposed to Sexually Oriented Performances
3
Texas Legislature Online. Texas Senate Bill 12 – Sexually Oriented Performances
4
Department of Justice. Citizens Guide to U.S. Federal Law on Obscenity
5
State of Texas. Texas Local Government Code 243.0031 – Authority to Regulate Certain Sexually Oriented Performances
6
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.21 – Class A Misdemeanor