We are trying a new series – dedicating an article page to each state we serve in for the year and using it as a mini-blog. We’ll post updates on laws and court cases here as we have them. This here is Utah.
Content Note: we talk about anti-trans legislation.
The Utah State Legislature
Website is https://le.utah.gov/. On it, you can:
- Find your legislator, get their contact information, and email them.
- View and track bills.
The Utah.gov website also has a contact your government official page.
Who do we look to for information?
March 19, 2024
March 12, 2024
The Legislative Session is DONE.
We are awaiting a fact sheet on HB 257, the bathroom bill. We’ll share it as soon as we can.
HB 0224, the age limitations on gender affirming procedures, did NOT PASS.
February 28, 2024
Good News! HB 303 – a censorship in education bill that would prohibit school staff from displaying pride anything – failed.
HB 464 – a social media restriction bill for youth – passed the House, has been sent to the Senate, has had its second reading in the Senate, and has progressed to the Rules Committee.
February 23, 2024
HB 234, which changes how transgender and nonbinary Utahns can update their names and gender markers on birth certificates has passed the legislature and is headed to Governor Cox’s desk. Equality Utah is celebrating this passage, but youth now need to be at least 15 years and 6 months old, unless emancipated, to change their gender marker, and the change will not go into effect until the youth is 16. Name change requests may be bundled with gender marker requests. The new birth certificate will not indicate that it has been amended unless the petitioner requests that it does, but the state will keep a record of changes.
HB 157, as amended, now states that a parent’s approval or disapproval, in itself, of a child’s gender identity is not a factor to be considered in custody determinations. Better than claiming that affirmation is not in the best interest of the child, but not as good as giving preference to affirming parents. HB 157 has been passed by the Utah State Legislature and will go to Governor Cox.
February 22, 2024
ACLU of Utah is asking everyone to ask Governor Cox to veto HB 29, a school “sensitive” materials bill (link goes to an email action page at Let Utah Read.)
February 20, 2024
The ACLU of Utah and Equality Utah are working on an FAQ for HB 257, the bathroom bill. They have a waitlist feature up on the ACLU Utah website to sign up to be informed when it goes live. We’ve signed up.
HB0029, a school instructional materials censorship bill has passed the Senate and is scheduled in the House.
February 17, 2024
Utah HB0234 – Birth Certificate name or marker change – has been sent to Governor Cox. If signed, this bill will go into effect May 1, 2024, and require minors to be at least 15 years and 6 months old or emancipated to update their birth certificate sex designation. All individuals requesting name or sex designation updates must indicate if they are registered with the state’s Sex and Kidnap Offender Registry.
Utah HB0316 – sex segregated housing in incarceration facilities has been sent to the Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice Committee.
February 2, 2024
257 was signed by Governor Cox. Equality Utah released an Instagram reel stating that they are reviewing the language of the bill and clarified that the enforcement provisions of 257 do not go into effect until MAY.
January 26, 2024: 257 goes to the governor’s desk
ACLU of Utah Action: contact Governor Cox
January 25, 2024: Utah Senate passes HB 0257
This bill was amended by the Senate and will now go back to the House to match up the differences as passed. 257 would go into effect immediately when signed. (Update 2/2 – MAY.)
Per Equality Utah, they and the ACLU of Utah are doing a deep dive legal analysis, and we’ll post when we see an update. The current ACLU write up of the bill is as follows:
Overview:
ACLU of Utah 2024 Priority Bills Tracker
Updated After Jan 24, 2024
Even with the substitute bill, we remain opposed to HB 257. While the substitute bill drops restrictions on publicly-funded bathrooms, the bill targets the rights of Transgender and Nonbinary Utahns. The bill still:
•Has a BATHROOM BAN for public schools. Another attack from powerful policymakers on Transgender and Nonbinary
•Leaves restrictions on publicly-owned and operated changing rooms.
•Still has criminal penalties focusing on changing rooms instead of restrooms.
•It attempts to enshrine outdated and inaccurate definitions of sex and families into law, expanding government overreach and promoting discrimination against transgender, nonbinary, or suspected transgender individuals.
•Defines a female as “an individual whose biological reproductive system is of the general type that functions to produce ova;” the bill would require all state laws that offer protections for women only to be applied to cisgender women.
•It perpetuates discrimination and erodes legal protections under the guise of protecting women’s rights.
January 22, 2024: UT HB 0257 is on the agenda in the Senate Business and Labor Standing Committee, scheduled to meet at 2 pm Mountain. Chair is Curtis S. Bramble (click there for contact info.)
January 19, 2024: Utah House of Representatives passes HB 0257
The Utah House of Representatives receives the hate award for passing the first anti-trans bill of the year: UT HB 0257 (links to contact Utah Representatives and Senators are at the bottom of the linked bill page.) This bill now goes to the Utah Senate Business and Labor Committee.
HB 0257 is a broad bill which excludes and criminalizes trans people.
Both Erin Reed of Erin In The Morning and Chris Geidner of Law Dork have excellent write- ups. Chase Strangio also posted a review on Insta.
As per LawDork:
“H.B. 257 would define “sex” and similar terms across state law to exclude trans people, criminalize many transgender people for using public restrooms and other facilities that match their gender identity, and prohibit local governments from taking certain actions to protect transgender people in public spaces, among other steps.
It is extreme legislation that explicitly retrofits the crimes of voyeurism and criminal trespass in the state to allow for the prosecution of many transgender people for using the right bathroom.“
Per Erin in the Morning:
“Should this bill pass, Utah would join Florida in becoming a “Do Not Travel” state for transgender people on the risk assessment map, a position held only by Florida after several organizations issued travel advisories warning of bathroom laws that could put them in legal jeopardy. Given that Salt Lake City airport is a common connecting flight location, this could have profound impacts on the ability of transgender people to move freely across the country.“
Other Proposed Legislation in Utah
UT HB 0224 : Healthcare Bill. Current status: bill is received in the Utah House of Representatives
- Bill would ban any surgical procedures that alter primary or secondary sex characteristics on individuals under age 18. Appears to apply to both cis and trans youth.
UT HB0253: Bathroom and Education Bill. Current status: bill is being evaluated by the fiscal teams.
- Segregates changing rooms and restrooms by sex, defined as chromosomes, “naturally” occurring sex hormones, and genitalia observed at birth.
- An individual may not enter a changing room or restroom designated for the opposite sex unless:
- They are assisting or chaperoning a child under 12, an elder above 60, or a disabled person of that sex.
- It is for law enforcement or regulatory purposes.
- It is an emergency.
- It is for custodial, maintenance, or inspection purposes.
- The “appropriate” room is out of order and there is no person of the designated sex present
- Discinplinary procedures shall be written into student and employee codes of conduct at higher education institutions for students who willfully enter designated rooms or refuse to leave designated spaces and are not of the designated sex.
- Does not apply to intersex individuals, if they are or have been under a physician’s treatment
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