TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida lawmakers passed a bill Wednesday that would require schools and other public facilities to restrict access to restrooms for single-sex facilities to a person’s sex assigned at birth, amid controversy surrounding transgender rights. The bill now heads to Gov. Ron DeSantis’s desk.
The Republican-controlled Senate voted 26-12 in favor of the bill (1521), with the House passing it in an 80-36 vote. The bill applies to facilities such as public schools, universities, state and local government buildings, prisons, and jails.
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Opponents of the bill have criticized the move, stating that it would subject transgender individuals to excessive harassment, and have questioned how the legislation would be enforced.
“Where is the dignity? Where is the respect for another human being?” asked Representative Marie Woodson, a Democrat from Hollywood.
No legal plan has yet to be announced for how the prosed bill would be legally forced in the state.
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However, bill sponsor Rachel Plakon, a Republican from Lake Mary, pointed to history to show “that separate facilities work,” and urged House members to vote for what she labels as “common sense.”
Florida is among several GOP-controlled states that have proposed legislation this year targeting transgender people.
Last month, lawmakers passed a bill (1438) that would block venues from admitting children to “adult live performances,” which some viewed as a move to curb drag shows. The House and Senate are also working out the details of a proposal to bar doctors from providing treatments such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy to transgender children. The osteopathic board voted unanimously to remove the exception, without any discussion.
READ: Florida lawmakers move forward on state transgender bathroom ban bills
While the listed bill doesn’t specifically mention drag shows, it came after DeSantis’ administration took steps such as filing a complaint against the Hyatt Regency Miami hotel for hosting a “Drag Queen Christmas” event in December.
Under the newly-passed bill, those who enter bathrooms designated for the “opposite sex” could face trespassing charges. Exceptions will be made for children under age 12, seniors and people with developmental disabilities.
The bill, which will be heard by the Senate Rules Committee, directly defined what each gender meant, labeling a female as “a person belonging, at birth, to the biological sex which has the specific reproductive role of producing eggs.”
READ: ‘Attack on us,’ Drag Show community reacts to passing of Florida State Bill 1438
Similarly, it defines a male as “a person belonging, at birth, to the biological sex which has the specific reproductive role of producing sperm.”
In addition to public facilities, the bill would apply to all government-owned buildings such as “changing facilities” in schools, jails and prisons, public shelters, health care facilities, airports, convention centers, parks, beaches and stadiums.
The bill does contain some exemptions. For example, it would, for instance, exclude chaperones for young kids, custodial workers, as well as cops and emergency medical workers who are also entering for work-related reasons.
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In addition, if a same-sex restroom is out of order, then someone can provisionally use the opposite-sex facility as long as no one is in there before entering.
Wednesday’s votes were largely along party lines, with only a few Republicans joining Democrats in voting against the measure. Representative Johanna Lopez, a Democrat from Orlando, criticized the bill, stating that it targets an “imaginary enemy” and “does nothing to make Floridians safer.”
Once signed by DeSantis, the bill would become law on July 1.
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