SALT LAKE CITY — A pair of controversial bills on transgender bathroom access and replacing offices of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion on college campuses have cleared final votes in the Utah State Senate.
House Bill 257, dealing with transgender bathroom access, passed 21-8 with two Republicans joining Democrats in opposition. The bill experienced whiplash with provisions stripped out on Wednesday being reinserted on Thursday.
House Bill 261, the DEI replacement bill, passed 23-6 along party lines.
The bills now goes to the House because they have been amended. If representatives agree to the changes, the bills then go to Governor Spencer Cox's desk. If there are further amendments in the House, the Senate would have to agree to them.
HB257, which initially sought to restrict public restroom access to sex designated at birth, was significantly rewritten on Wednesday in the Senate. It striped out that controversial provision, but kept some restrictions in locker room changing areas and public school restrooms. The new bill bolsters voyeurism and lewdness laws in what its sponsors insist is targeting people's behavior and not gender identity. The bill also requires more unisex facilities in new public facilities and retrofitting existing facilities when possible.
But the latest version of the bill appears to now block transgender individuals from using a public restroom consistent with their gender identity, unless they've fully transitioned. The maneuver left some frustrated and angry. Outside the Capitol, dozens of LGBTQ rights activists protested on Thursday.
"It was never intended to be OK for anybody to use every bathroom," the bill's Senate sponsor, Sen. Dan McCay, R-Riverton, told reporters after the vote. "That’s why we put signs on the outside that say men's and women's."
But there is also no explicit penalty for violations, instead focusing on behavior if someone is committing a crime in a restroom or locker room like voyeurism or lewdness. The bill also does not dictate what private businesses can do with their restrooms.
The bill could also face a lawsuit, should the governor sign it into law.
"Every day, more and more transgender and Nonbinary people find the language to describe their own experiences and are willing to live openly. They are part of our communities and deserve freedom from constant political attacks," the ACLU of Utah said in a statement to FOX 13 News. "With each challenge to the rights of transgender Utahns — in healthcare, sports, identification, and now public spaces — we will use every means available, including legal action when necessary, to defend their civil rights and liberties from powerful policymakers infringing on these freedoms."
HB261 prohibits "diversity statements" in job applications and trainings in government jobs that are "ideological" and place one race, gender or nationality above another. Its most controversial provision replaces DEI offices on Utah college and university campuses with all-encompassing "Student Success Centers" and prohibits the use of the term "Diversity, Equity and Inclusion."
The bill will not impact scholarships for people or student organizations on college campuses. Sen. Keith Grover, R-Provo, who is carrying the bill in the Senate also said it would not impact the University of Utah's relationship with the Ute Tribe.
Asked if nothing essentially changes except a name change getting rid of "DEI" Sen. Grover told FOX 13 News: "True but not true. You're going to also have an application of services to all students considered at risk."
At a news conference on Thursday following the Senate passage of both bills, House and Senate Democrats blasted both bills.
"We will stand together to support and protect our marginalized and vulnerable communities. These bills are only going to put us backwards," said Senate Minority Leader Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City. "We’re not moving ahead. The economic impact and the impact to our children specifically, sending the wrong message that they don’t belong in Utah. It’s very, very concerning."
House Minority Leader Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City, called on people to vote in the next election.
"If this makes people angry, it's up to us to change who represents us up here at the Capitol," she said.
