Trans Formations Project Newsletter ∙ 1/20/23

At the time of writing, It is Friday, January 20th. We are a few weeks into the new year, and like last week, we have quite a lot of ground to cover. In 2023, we’ve already surpassed the amount of anti-trans legislation introduced in ALL of 2022. Before we hop into new legislation...


First, a few org-related things we want to plug:

1. We are excited to announce that Trans Formations Project creator Tabbytha is now streaming DAILY on weekdays starting at 5 pm eastern time doing a breakdown of the day's legislative updates. Be sure to tune in tonight, and every weekday, at 5 pm at twitch.tv/thetransformationsproject.

2. Our legislative tracking was also covered in this news article this week about the anti-trans climate in North Dakota.

3. We are always looking for new volunteers. In particular, we could use digital volunteers to support our record keeping team. Help with tasks including tracking legislation, writing bill summaries, updating election results, and more. You can join our Discord server at transformationsproject.org to learn more!

Now, a few action items for folks with capacity:

1. There are two pieces of pro-trans legislation in Maryland this legislative session, The Trans Health Equity Act (THEA) and the Transgender Respect, Agency, and Dignity Act (TRAD Act). You can sign on to the letter here and let Maryland legislators know that you support these bills.

2. As we reported last week, The Florida Boards of Medicine and Osteopathy are taking public comments in opposition to their proposed "standards of care" which would ban gender-affirming healthcare for youth in Florida. You can join Equality Florida and other community partners at the hearing on Friday, February 10th from 1 to 5 pm in Tallahassee, Florida. You can RSVP to attend the hearing here. Equality Florida and the HRC are also hosting a pre-meeting virtual messaging training which you can register for here. If you are unable to attend the hearing in person, written public comments can be submitted via email to BOMPublicComment@flhealth.gov up until February 7th at 5 PM EST.

3. Missouri SB42 has a hearing next Tuesday, January 24th at 8 am in the Senate Lounge. As a reminder, this is a bill that contains schooling provisions banning classroom instruction of "divisive concepts," a parental bill of rights, a sports ban for trans girls, and a gender-affirming health care ban for minors. It truly is an evil bill attacking the rights of trans youth through any means necessary. You can show up and provide testimony speaking out against this bill at the hearing.

4. New Hampshire HB396 has a hearing next Thursday, January 26th at 4pm in Legislative Office Building 206-208. For a refresher, This bill would define "sex" as "biological sex" and deny that legal gender changes apply to bathrooms, athletics, prisons, and any other relevant situation. There is no clarification on how "biological sex" would be defined. You can show up and provide testimony speaking out against this bill at the hearing.

5. North Dakota HB1474 has a hearing next Wednesday, January 25th at 9:15 am in Pioneer. This was just introduced this week and is a sex definition bill which has implications for vital statistics. You can show up and provide testimony speaking out against this bill at the hearing.

The Thing(s) We Won
The North Dakota Senate Judiciary Committee voted “do not pass” on SB2199. This bill would have required that all references to a person's sex or gender by any entity receiving state funding refer to the person's determined sex at birth, with a penalty of $1,500 for violations. The room at the hearing was packed with trans supporters and activists. There were no enforcement, funding, or implementation plans.

What The Heck Else Happened This Week?

• This week in Ron DeSantis’s transphobia: The Florida governor sent a memorandum to all state universities demanding information about any and all services they offer to transgender and gender expansive students. This is a clear attempt to intimidate trans students and infringe on the already limited gender-affirming care available in the state of Florida.

• Bad news out of Utah, with three anti-trans bills passing committee and going on to the state senate. All of these bills target trans youth. This includes SB0016, a healthcare ban, SB0100, a forced outing/parental rights schooling bill, and finally SB93 which bans amending birth certificates for minors, barring trans youth from having their correct gender identity marker.

• Other bills which made significant progress this week include 1. North Dakota HB1139 which received 81 ‘yeas’ and only 11 ‘nays’ in the State House and has now crossed over to the State Senate and 2. Arkansas SB43, a drag bill, passed a vote in committee and will now go to the full Senate floor.

New Legislation
We saw record numbers of new bills introduced this week, organized below by bill type. Due to the sheer number, we are keeping the summaries brief. You can read more about these bills and track their progress using our legislative tracker at transformationsproject.org. We also regularly post updates across our social media accounts.

Healthcare Bills. Healthcare bills go against professional and scientific consensus that gender affirming care saves lives. Denying access will cause harm. Providers are faced with criminal charges, parents are threatened with child abuse charges, and intersex children are typically exempted.

1. Mississippi HB576 was introduced and referred to the House Public Health and Human Services Committee.

2. Nebraska LB574 was introduced.

3. Oklahoma SB345 was pre-filed.

4. Oklahoma HB1466 was pre-filed.

5. Oregon SB452 was referred to the Senate Finance & Revenue committee.

6. South Carolina HB3730 was introduced and sent to the House Judiciary Committee.

Birth Certificate Bills. Birth certificate bills try to make it harder for trans folks to have IDs that match their gender identity. They tend to force a male or female designation based upon sex assigned at birth. Some ban a non-binary “X” marker or require surgery to update a birth certificate.

1. Oklahoma SB731 was pre-filed for next month which is an abortion bill and sex definition bill.

2. Tennessee HB0239 was introduced. This is a "sex designation act," defining sex as biological, assigned at birth, binary, and immutable.

Schooling/Parental Rights Bills. Schooling bills force schools to misgender or deadname students, ban instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity, and make schools alert parents if they suspect a child is trans. They remove life-saving affirmation and support for trans youth.

1. Connecticut SB00468 was introduced and referred to the Joint Judiciary Committee.

2. Indiana HB1407 was introduced and referred to the House Family, Children, and Human Affairs Committee.

3. Indiana HB1346 was introduced and referred to the House Education Committee.

4. Indiana SB413 and Indiana SB386 were introduced and sent to the Senate Education and Career Development Committee.

5. Iowa SF83 was introduced and referred to the Senate Education Committee.

6. Mississippi HB509 was introduced and referred to the House Judiciary Committee.

7. Missouri SB497 was introduced.

8. Oklahoma HB1781 was pre-filed.

9. Oregon HB3044 was introduced.

10. Wyoming SF0117 is having a hearing today, January 20th at 8:00 am in State Capitol Room W110 & Online. We will provide updates as they become available.

Sports Bans. Most sports bills force schools to designate teams by sex assigned at birth. They are often one-sided and ban trans girls from playing on teams consistent with their gender identity. Some egregious bills even force invasive genital examinations on student athletes.

1. Nebraska LB573 was introduced.

2. Oregon SB749 was introduced.

3. Wyoming SF0133 was introduced.

4. Wyoming HB187 was introduced.

Bathroom Bills. A bathroom bill denies access to public restrooms by gender or trans identity. They increase danger without making anyone any safer and have even prompted attacks on cis and trans people alike. Many national health and anti-sexual assault organizations oppose these bills.

1. Idaho S1003 was introduced and referred to the Senate State Affairs Committee.

Drag Bans. Drag bans restrict access for folks who are gender non-conforming in any way. They loosely define drag as any public performance with an “opposite gender expression,” as sexual in nature, and inappropriate for children. This also pushes trans individuals out of public spaces.

1. Texas SB476 was filed. 

An additional anti-trans bill to report: Oklahoma SB408 was pre-filed for next month. This proposed bill would create the "Women's Bill of Rights." This bill defines "bio sex," and is a separate but equal bill pretending to be a bill of rights.


Concluding Thoughts
As is clear by this week’s newsletter, the attack on trans rights is not just continuing, but intensifying. Take care of yourselves, show up, and FIGHT!

We know that staying up-to-date with anti-trans legislation may be distressing to our readers. If you or someone you know needs support, here are a few affirming resources that you can reach out to:

• If you need support or are in crisis you can contact the Trans Lifeline hotline at (877) 565-8860. The Trans Lifeline is run by trans people, for trans people, and does not engage in non-consensual active rescue, meaning they will not call law enforcement without your consent.

• You can connect with a Trevor Project crisis counselor via phone (1-866-488-7386), chat, or text (Text ‘START’ to 678-678) support. Note: This resource could utilize non-consensual active rescue, including law enforcement, 911, and first responders.

• You can call the LGBT National Hotline at (888) 843-4564, or connect with a peer via chat. The LGBT National Help Center will NOT call other suicide hotlines, law enforcement, 911, or rescue services.

• BlackLine is a BIPOC LGBTQ+ support line, run by BIPOC folks, for BIPOC folks. This resource does not involve law enforcement or state agencies. You can call 1 (800) 604-5841 to chat with a peer.