Bill watch: Here’s all of the proposed Kentucky legislation related to LGBTQ issues
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Bill watch: Here’s all of the proposed Kentucky legislation related to LGBTQ issues
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Some of the most contentious bills to arise from the 2023 Kentucky General Assembly pertain to LGBTQ issues, transgender students, gender identity and pronouns.
Republican sponsors say the legislation is about parents’ rights and child safety, while opponents like the LGBTQ advocacy group the Fairness Campaign have dubbed these bills the “slate of hate.” Students in Louisville, Lexington and Danville have staged walkouts over some of these bills.
Only two of the below bills have seen serious movement in the legislature so far. Senate Bill 150 has passed the full Senate and House Bill 470 has received one reading in the House; two readings are required before passage in each chamber.
Here are brief overviews of these pieces of legislation:
Senate Bills
- SB 102: Sponsored by freshman Sen. Lindsey Tichenor, R-Smithfield, this 27-page bill addresses public schools’ course material, the use of pronouns, transgender students, the instruction of race, sexual orientation and gender identity, and a ban on drag shows in schools. Its twin bill is HB 173.
- SB 115: Also sponsored by Tichenor, this bill would have originally prohibited “adult-oriented businesses” — including drag shows — from operating within 1,000 feet of child care facilities, schools, public parks, homes or places of worship. A committee substitute pared back the bill, prohibiting adult performances on publicly owned property or where it could be viewed
- SB 150: Sponsored by Sen. Max Wise, R-Campbellsville, this bill would, among other things, allow teachers to decide whether or not to use a student’s pronouns if they don’t conform to the student’s sex assigned at birth. This bill passed the full Senate 29-6.
House Bills
- HB 30: Sponsored by Rep. Bill Wesley, R-Ravenna, this bill would require students to use the bathroom or locker room that matches their biological sex. Instead, schools may opt to provide the “best alternative accommodation,” including single-stall restrooms or faculty restrooms.
- HB 120: This bill, sponsored by Rep. Savannah Maddox, R-Dry Ridge, would prohibit Kentucky health care providers from offering “gender transition procedures” to any child under the age of 18 or provide referrals for such care. Doing so would be “unprofessional conduct and be subject to disciplinary action by the appropriate licensing or certifying entity,” according to the bill.
- HB 173: This wide-ranging, 27-page bill sponsored by Rep. Josh Calloway, R-Irvington, addresses public schools’ course material, the use of pronouns, transgender students, the instruction of race, sexual orientation and gender identity and a ban on drag shows in schools. Its twin bill is SB 102.
- HB 177: This bill, sponsored by Rep. Shane Baker, R-Somerset, would ban instruction on gender identity and expression, sexual orientation and sexual relationships. It would also require school boards to develop policies which promote parental involvement.
- HB 204: From freshman Representative Steve Rawlings, R-Burlington, House Bill 204 bars government from “substantially burdening” an individual’s religious liberty. It also codifies a person’s right to sue when their religious liberty has been burdened. The law could have an effect on local Fairness Ordinances, which were enacted to protect many city residents in Kentucky from discrimination based on their sexuality, gender or race.
- HB 470: Sponsored by Rep. Jennifer Decker, R-Shelbyville, this bill cracks down on gender transition services for any Kentuckian under 18. The 37-page bill would disallow providers from prescribing puberty blockers or performing gender-affirming surgery to minors, would deem providing gender transition services to be “unethical and unprofessional conduct,” and would revoke the license of any provider confirmed to have provided that care to a minor.
- HB 585: Also sponsored by Wesley, this bill would require that Kentucky birth certificates are issued only for “male” and “female” and that any nonbinary designation, including “X,” would not be recognized.
Herald-Leader reporters Austin Horn and Valarie Honeycutt Spears contributed to this report.
Tessa Duvall
Lexington Herald-Leader