Update, Jan. 26 — Following another substitution, and a short conference meeting between the chambers, Utah lawmakers voted to approve HB257 and send it to the governor. Our original story continues below.
The Utah Senate passed a revised version of a bill that restricts what bathrooms and locker rooms transgender people can use in “publicly owned and controlled” buildings.
Republican Sen. Dan McCay, the floor sponsor of HB257, introduced a substitution on Jan. 24 that loosened restrictions on which public bathrooms transgender people could occupy. The next day, he proposed another substitution that seemed to return the restrictions back to what was outlined in the original version of the bill. It also defines what a man, woman, female and male is in Utah code. Unlike the version that passed the House on Jan. 19, the Senate update allows transgender people to use the bathroom they want in domestic violence and homeless shelters.
On the floor, McCay emphasized, again, that the legislation doesn’t focus on gender identity, but rather the inappropriate behavior of people inside private spaces, like bathrooms and locker rooms. Adding the sex designation back into the bill, he said, is “protecting individual privacy.”
McCay also went through a list of examples from other states of people sexually assaulting women and children in public bathrooms as his defense as to why sex-designated separation in publicly owned bathrooms and changing rooms is needed.
“These are real incidents with real issues related to the wrong gender in the wrong bathroom,” he said. “I have four daughters and I’m done with it.”
None of the examples involved a transgender person and his colleague, Republican Rep. Daniel Thatcher, made a point of that. Thatcher said he knows that sexual violence in Utah is a problem but “making a prohibition against transgender individuals, is not targeting the actions.”
He also raised constitutionality questions.
“I believe when we treat trans people differently under the law … it is a violation of the Equal Protection Clause under the United States Constitution,” Thatcher said.
When McCay initially rolled back restrictions on the bill to center on the behavior of someone in the bathroom, Thatcher thanked him for doing so. With these new changes, he reversed his support entirely.
Thatcher and Republican Sen. Todd Weiler joined all Senate Democrats in voting against the revised bill.
Speaking to reporters, McCay said a transgender person will not face criminal penalties for entering the bathroom that correlates with their gender identity, but will if they are “engaged in lewdness” or other illegal behavior.
Still, there remains confusion about what constitutes a “publicly owned and controlled” facility. While the bill makes it clear that people use a sex-designated bathroom in public libraries and county recreation centers, it’s unclear if this legislation would apply to places like the Salt Lake City International Airport.
Under the bill, transgender people wouldn’t legally be able to use a sex-designated locker room or changing room that aligns with their gender identity. For example, it would be illegal for a transgender woman to use the female locker room inside a county recreation building.
The bathroom restrictions also apply to transgender children in public K-12 schools. If a transgender student doesn’t want to use the restroom that matches their sex assigned at birth, they would be required to establish a “privacy plan” with the school and administrators would have to grant that student access to single occupancy or faculty stalls.
The only way a transgender person could use the bathroom that aligns with their gender identity is if they’ve updated their birth certificate and undergone gender-affirming surgery. This exception applies to K-12 students as well, who are unable to have gender-affirming surgery after the Legislature banned it for minors last year.
Wearing all black as a sign of “mourning” in a news conference, House and Senate Democrats addressed both of the contentious bills passed by the Senate – the bathroom bill and another that guts diversity, equity and inclusion programs in schools.
“We will stand together to support and protect our marginalized and vulnerable communities. These bills are only going to put us backwards. We're not moving ahead,” said Senate Minority leader Luz Escamilla.
Democrats said they would encourage Gov. Spencer Cox to veto the bills. The governor’s office told KUER it “doesn’t have any news to share” on whether Cox plans to sign or veto the legislation if it comes to his desk.
