Politicians in the Texas state legislature have authored a pair of bills they hope would keep the TSA from using full-body scanners and enhanced pat-downs at airports in the Lone Star State.

From the Star-Telegram:

One of the bills would ban “body imaging scanning equipment” from being installed or operated in any airport in Texas.

The other bill would add any TSA-style pat-down used “to grant access to a publicly accessible building or form of transportation” to the description of “sexual assault” in the state’s penal code.

As for whether or not the Texas state legislature has the authority to tell the TSA what to do, one of the bill’s authors, David Simpson, tells the paper, “Texas regulates municipal, county and regional airports. They determine what equipment goes in them.”

“We’re terrorizing innocent travelers to save us from terrorism,” he adds. “We’ve lost the battle if we continue to do that.”

Other supporters of the bill say they backed it, not because they think it’s enforceable but because they hope it will engender more public discussion on the topic.

Bills target full-body scans, pat-down searches at Texas airports [Star-Telegram.com via Jaunted]

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.