Texas governor signs pro-free speech and anti-free speech bills in the same week

On June 9, Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed a law protecting free speech on college campuses in one of his quirky bill signing videos on Twitter. But on Friday, the governor signed two additional bills that a campus free speech organization says will “pose serious threats to free speech and due process on campus.”

The pro-free speech bill, SB 18, explicitly allows students “to assemble or distribute written material without a permit or other permission” from campus leaders, and it defines “the common outdoor areas of [an] institution’s campus” as “public forums.” This bill is similar to campus free speech bills recently implemented in several other states.