State lawmakers voted Wednesday afternoon to advance a proposal to narrow Utah’s legal definitions of sex to exclude transgender people from numerous gender-designated spaces.
Representatives in the House Business and Labor Committee passed Rep. Kera Birkeland’s “Sex-based Designations for Privacy, Anti-bullying and Women’s Opportunities,” or HB257, mostly along party line, with the two Democrats on the committee voting against it, and one Republican joining them for different reasons.
WATCH: Lawmakers’ first debate on proposed restriction for transgender Utahns
HB257 was first made public Thursday — less than one week before its first public hearing. Wednesday is the second day of Utah’s 45-day legislative session. Last year, lawmakers quickly passed, and Gox. Spencer Cox signed, a law restricting gender-affirming health care for transgender youth during the open weeks of lawmaking.
If passed, it would legally define a female as “an individual whose biological reproductive system is of the general type that functions to produce ova,” and a male as “an individual whose biological reproductive system is of the general type that functions to fertilize the ova of a female.”
It’s unclear how far-reaching the bill, which would amend numerous areas of Utah code, might be. Who is allowed to enter sex-specific restrooms and locker rooms, as well as who can access state-funded domestic violence shelters and rape crisis centers, would be dictated under the bill.
Representatives from organizations that provide such services, as well as the Utah Office for Victims of Crime, expressed concerns about that potential during the meeting.
The bill would also require government facilities to study the feasibility of adding more single-occupancy restrooms and changing spaces for individuals who feel uncomfortable using areas designated for their sex assigned at birth.
Dozens of transgender Utahns came to the Capitol — with others joining the online — to speak in opposition to the bill. They told lawmakers about their experiences dehydrating themselves to avoid using the restroom and stopping their cars under overpasses to avoid rest stops on road trips.
They spoke about how restrictions on the transgender community and efforts to portray them as predators have harmed their mental health. Speakers also told lawmakers how transgender people in other states who were told to use restrooms according to their assigned sex at birth rather than their gender identity resulted in them being assaulted.
Birkeland has so far declined to comment to The Salt Lake Tribune on the bill.
During Wednesday’s hearing, she citied parents’ complaints about transgender students’ restroom use to the Utah State Board of Education.
“I think we’re here to solve concerns,” Birkeland said, “and I don’t think we wait until an 8-year-old is raped or molested by a predator. I think we act in good faith, with respect, finding accommodations that show compassion all along the way.”
In an email Tuesday, LGBTQ+ advocacy organization Equality Utah urged its supporters to contact their representatives to share their concerns.
“At its core, this bill restricts the ability for trans people to use restrooms, a basic necessity and human right. But HB 257′s impact also extends to locker rooms, sports activities, domestic violence shelter, prisons and potentially more situations as well,” the email said.
Equality Utah continued, “We would be better served by crafting legislation that targets problematic behavior rather than restricting people.”
Transgender people would face criminal charges for violating the bill if it becomes law. If state officials sign off on the bill, it could face legal challenges as the American Civil Liberties Union sues to overturn similar laws and changes made under such laws in other states, including Montana and Kansas.
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