Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is expected on Thursday to introduce legislation to limit public restroom access for transgender people, despite warnings from a business group that the measure would hurt the Texas economy because it was discriminatory.

Patrick, a Republican conservative Christian who guides the legislative agenda in the state Senate, has said his proposed "Privacy Protection Act" is a top legislative priority for the second most populous U.S. state.

The bill is one of several on tap for state legislatures this year that socially conservative backers say offer common sense protections against sexual predators. Critics say there is no evidence of that and the laws are designed to infringe on the civil rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.