State lawmakers will vote Wednesday afternoon on whether to advance a proposal to narrow Utah’s legal definitions of sex to exclude transgender people.
Representatives will discuss Morgan Republican Rep. Kera Birkeland’s bill “Sex-based Designations for Privacy, Anti-bullying and Women’s Opportunities,” or HB257, in the House Business and Labor Committee at 2 p.m. Wednesday in room 445 at the Capitol. The public can also view the committee meeting online.
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.
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.
Birkeland has declined to comment to The Salt Lake Tribune on the bill.
“I’ve received multiple reports of perpetrators going into women’s facilities in our state for improper purposes and they do it under the pretext of being something they are not — they are predators seeking to harm women at the expense of transgender individuals,” the state lawmaker wrote in a post on X.
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.
