Restrictions on where transgender people can use the bathroom are now in effect in Utah after Republican Gov. Spencer Cox quickly signed a bill Tuesday that changes the legal definitions of “female” and “male” to categorize Utahns by the reproductive organs of their birth.
Morgan Republican Rep. Kera Birkeland’s “Sex-based Designations for Privacy, Anti-bullying and Women’s Opportunities,” or HB257, will also restrict which locker rooms trans Utahns can use and will require trans students to use a “privacy plan” created with their school.
”We want public facilities that are safe and accommodating for everyone and this bill increases privacy protections for all,” Cox said in a statement Tuesday evening.
The Republican-led Legislature passed the bill on Friday, only 11 days into its annual session, with leaders in both the Utah Senate and House signing the bill on Monday. According to the Utah Consitution, Cox had 10 days to sign or veto the bill, or it would become law without his say.
This is the third year in a row state lawmakers have passed restrictions on the transgender community, and the second in which those laws were pushed through in the first weeks of the session.
In 2022, Cox vetoed a bill that would have kept trans girls from joining sports programs that align with their gender identity. The Legislature came together in a special session to override his veto and the law is currently tied up in court.
The governor signed a bill last year that bans gender-affirming surgeries for trans youth and indefinitely bars them from accessing hormone therapy and puberty blockers.
“We will continue to push the Legislature for additional resources to organizations that work to help this important Utah community,” Cox wrote in a statement at the time. “While we understand our words will be of little comfort to those who disagree with us, we sincerely hope that we can treat our transgender families with more love and respect as we work to better understand the science and consequences behind these procedures.”
