Two House bills targeting transgender athletes move through the legislative session

CHEYENNE—A second House bill that bans transgender athletes from participating on female sports teams in Wyoming schools passed committee Monday morning. Meanwhile, another House bill with similar language passed its third and final reading that afternoon, crossing over to the Senate.

In 2023, a bill sponsored by Sen. Wendy Schuler, R-Evanston, banning transgender athlete participation on female public school sports teams in grades 7-12 was signed into law. Rep. Martha Lawley, R-Worland, brought a bill this legislative session that would expand the 2023 law. 

Lawley’s bill, House Bill 60, “Student eligibility in sports-amendments,” prohibits transgender participation on women’s sports teams in grades K-12 and public colleges. It also prohibits intercollegiate sports teams from playing against out-of-state teams with a transgender player.

Although this bill has successfully passed all the way through the House, Wyoming Freedom Caucus Chairwoman Rep. Rachel Rodriguez-Williams, R-Cody, sponsored her own bill, HB 274, “Biological males in women’s sports,” which mirrors Lawley’s bill.

HB 274 does not expand to grades kindergarten through 6. The bill’s sponsor attempted to bring this amendment forward, but it failed to pass the committee.

The House Labor, Health and Social Services Committee passed HB 274 on Monday, with a single “no” vote from Rep. Mike Yin, D-Jackson. Yin asked Rodriguez-Williams how her bill would interact with Lawley’s bill.

“I would say my bill, HB 274, is cleaner and simpler,” Rodriguez-Williams said. “I don’t get into P.E. or interscholastic sports or anything like that.”

Yin asked if there would be any conflict in passing both bills, since both pieces of legislation address college sports. Rodriguez-Williams said she didn’t have an answer for what would happen in the future.

“Again, I think there’s some significant differences in the bills, and how that plays out within the conference committee or future process I can’t predict,” she said.

Moms for Liberty Laramie County Chapter President Patricia McCoy said she supported the bill for several reasons, one being that it includes a private cause of action for schools, students, parents and guardians “harmed” by violation of this bill.

Yin pointed out that similar enforcement mechanisms are already included in current law. The only difference, he said, is the private cause of action provided in HB 274.

“If you create private causes of action, you create a situation where harassment could actually ensue via the courts,” Yin said. “Are there enforcement problems, currently, that you’ve seen?”

In her answer, McCoy referred to the University of Wyoming’s Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. There is an ongoing lawsuit between six sorority sisters and their parent chapter after a transgender member was admitted into KKG last spring.

However, McCoy did not mention any sports teams.

Wyoming Equality communications coordinator Santi Murillo told committee members she was the first transgender student athlete at UW, from 2017 to 2019.

“I’m here to say that this bill is a solution in search of a problem,” Murillo said. “This bill is not only discriminatory, but harmful to Wyoming students and institutions of higher education.”

RELATED

Legislative digest: Transgender athletes, school funding

Ohio court transfers second transgender-sorority case to Wyoming

She said the bill unfairly targets transgender athletes and places “an undue burden” on educational institutions by allowing lawsuits against schools and governmental entities. There are currently three bills targeting transgender athletes, she said.

Senate File 44, “Fairness in sports-intercollegiate athletics,” passed the Senate on three readings and was received for introduction in the House last week.

“Realistically, that’s one per transgender athlete in this state,” Murillo said.

HB 274 has been referred to the House Appropriations Committee for consideration before it would move to the entire House of Representatives for further debate and vote.