A Texas representative this week introduced a proposal that would ban discrimination by state contractors on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, the latest of a handful of bills seeking to expand equal rights protections.

H.B. 582, filed Monday by Rep. Chris Turner, D-Grand Prairie, would prohibit contractors hired by any state agency from denying employment or firing an individual based on sexual orientation or gender identity and require contractors to adopt a policy prohibiting discrimination on those grounds.