Out Texas state Rep. Venton Jones (D) announced on Monday that the state’s House Committee of Public Health unanimously voted to pass a bill the Democratic lawmaker authored to ensure HIV testing is included as a standard part of STD screenings.
H.B. 50 would “help ensure more Texans know their status, connect to lifesaving care sooner and ultimately reduce HIV transmission across our state,” according to Jones.
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H.B. 50 passed the Texas House with overwhelming bipartisan support, earning over 100 votes before stalling in the state Senate.
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Jones has made attempts in the past to pass similar laws in the chamber, authoring H.B. 3377 and H.B. 2235 in his freshman year as State Representative in 2023; both of those bills died in committee. Prior to becoming the representative for Texas’s 100th district, he was a vocal HIV prevention and awareness advocate, something that was motivated in part by his own experience with the disease.
In 2006, Jones was diagnosed with HIV while preparing to enter the U.S. Army.
“I had just started to fully understand the impact of health disparities in the Black community,” Jones told POZ
Afterward, he joined United Black Ellument, an HIV prevention and intervention project, and rose to the rank of team leader in Dallas. In 2010, his efforts in public health advocacy were recognized by then-President Barrack Obama.
Jones ran for the 100th District in 2023 after the former representative, current U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX), announced she would be running for U.S. House. After defeating Joe Roberts of the Libertarian Party in the general election, he would become the first Black, gay, openly HIV positive lawmaker to serve in the Texas Capitol.
According to a press release from Jones’ office, many Texans assume that HIV testing is already included in the standard screening, but that is not always the case.
“Given the stigma that continues to persist around HIV and AIDS, patients may not always feel comfortable asking explicitly for the test,” the press release notes.
HIV is a disease that faces massive stigma due to its association with homosexuality, especially in Texas, which has a history of laws discriminating against the LGBTQ+ community. As of 2023, Texas is one of three states where homosexuality bans have not been removed from the books, despite the Supreme Court decision in Lawrence v. Texas invalidating these laws in 2003.
Keeping this in mind, many people would opt out of getting tested out of fear of facing persecution.
HIV is a disease that can lay dormant for years without any symptoms, making it likely for people to spread the disease unwittingly.
In 2005, a study by the CDC found that 25% of people living with HIV weren’t aware they had it, with most Americans having never been tested. Since then, the number has gone down to 13% due to efforts to destigmatize HIV/AIDS and public health programs offering assistance to marginalized communities.
“Testing saves lives, and normalizing it reduces the stigma that acts as another obstacle to tackling the HIV epidemic,” Jones said.
Currently, Texas ranks first in the nation for new HIV diagnoses; still, many individuals are unaware that they are living with HIV. Jones hopes that H.B. 50 will address this gap while preserving a patient’s right to decline the test.
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