At 11th hour, Kentucky Republicans resurrect, expand and pass anti-trans bill

This story discusses suicide and mental health issues. If you're in crisis, help is available: Call the national 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988 or chatting online.

If you or someone you know needs trans peer support, you can call Trans Kentucky at 859-448-5428 or visit their website. Nationally, you can call the Trans Lifeline at 877-565-8860 or visit their website. LGBTQ+ youth can get support from the Trevor Project by calling 866-488-7386 or visiting their website.

FRANKFORT, Ky. - When lawmakers went home Wednesday night, it looked as if Kentucky’s marquee omnibus anti-trans legislation was on its deathbed, being slowly killed by Republican discord.

But on Thursday, a multi-hour legislative sprint suddenly resurrected, expanded and rushed a nearly identical proposal through the Kentucky legislature and to the governor’s desk with hours to spare.

Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, now has 10 days to either veto or sign Senate Bill 150 into law. Beshear is widely expected to veto the bill. Kentucky's Republican-led legislature, though, will be able to override his veto when it returns for the final two days of the legislative session on March 29 and 30.

The backlash was swift. The ACLU of Kentucky called the bill "unconstitutional," vowing legal action should it become law.

GLI, Louisville's chamber of commerce, said it was "extremely disappointed" in the legislation. The Trevor Project, an organization that works to prevent suicide in LGBTQ youths, condemned SB 150, calling it one of the most extreme anti-trans measures in the nation.

"First, this is not a Kentucky measure – the genesis of this measure springs from a national agenda of fearmongering," Terry Brooks, the executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates, wrote in a statement.

"This bill – and the processes of its passage – reveal why there is such disillusionment about Frankfort," Brooks said, adding that the Republican-dominated legislature frequently demands Beshear be transparent but then pulls "what can kindly be called parliamentary shenanigans."

The saga began shortly before 1 p.m. Thursday, when a surprise House Education Committee meeting was called during the House's lunch break.

Within six minutes, Sen. Max Wise and Rep. David Meade - both Republicans - sat in a committee room, presenting a new, expanded version of Senate Bill 150 for a committee vote.

As lawmakers and opponents alike rushed into the room, the duo explained the changed bill - which was so new, not even the House clerk had a digital copy to share after the vote, let alone have the bill available to the general public at the time.

SB 150's initial provisions, including one allowing teachers to misgender their students, remain intact. A new section added a ban on gender-affirming medical care for trans youths, despite medical experts and their professional associations saying such care is safe and effective treatment for children with gender dysphoria.

Doctors would be required to set a timeline to detransition children already taking puberty blockers or undergoing hormone therapy. They would be allowed to continue offering care as they taper a child's treatments, if immediately taking them off the treatment could harm the child, the bill says.

Background:Kentucky Senate pauses tweaked anti-trans bill, one day before veto period

Schools would not be allowed to discuss sexual orientation or gender identity with students of any age - a key provision of "Don't Say Gay" bills across the country. Schools would not be allowed to talk about sexually transmitted diseases or human sexuality before sixth grade and would need to require parental consent in sixth grade and up.

A provision requires school districts to craft bathroom policies that, "at a minimum," will not allow trans kids to use the bathroom tied to their gender identities.

In a change from House Bill 470 - a sweeping anti-trans bill held up in the Senate - SB 150 would allow children to legally change their names or alter their birth certificates as part of their transitioning.

An hour after the committee meeting was first called - and about 30 minutes after its vote - the bill came up for a vote on the House floor. After more than two hours of lopsided debate - nearly every Democrat spoke, often at length, against the bill - SB 150 passed out of the House 75-22.

Rep. Ashley Tackett Laferty, D-Martin, was the sole Democrat in the House to vote for the bill. Republican Reps. Kim Banta, Stephanie Dietz and Killian Timoney voted against. Rep. Kim Moser, a Republican, passed on her vote despite opposing a similar bill earlier in the session.

Early in the debate, Rep. Lindsey Burke, D-Lexington, questioned how giving a six-minute notice before holding a committee meeting doesn't violate the state's open meeting law, which requires 24-hour notice before public meetings. Her question was not answered on the floor.

Michael Abate, an open records lawyer, said someone can file a complaint over a violation of the open meetings law, but that complaint would go to lawmakers to be addressed - or not. Wise, the bill's sponsor, is running to be Kentucky's next lieutenant governor - the second-in-command of the commonwealth.

The new language was posted online after the House floor debate began.

Nearly every House Democrat spoke against the measure, making several motions to stall or alter SB 150, challenging its timeline and stressing how it will impact children's future - particularly in Kentucky.

Rep. Josie Raymond, D-Louisville, said the theme of the legislative session is "ignorance."

"Ignorance of children's individuality, children's agency, children's value, children's futures and children's understanding of who they are," she said. "The disdain that this body shows for children astounds me."

Raymond then paused, softly weeping at her desk on the House floor for several seconds before quietly saying she will be voting no.

SB 150 quickly made its way back to the Senate, which needed to agree with the House's changes.

The rush on SB 150 came a day after the Kentucky Senate paused discussions on HB 470, an omnibus anti-trans bill with similar language to SB 150, over disagreements over how far the bill should go. A floor amendment to HB 470 adopted late Wednesday softened some of the language around gender-affirming medical care - gaining some GOP votes but losing others.

Gone was that infighting during SB 150's final Senate vote Thursday evening.

Sen. Karen Berg, a Louisville Democrat who lost her trans son, Henry, to suicide in late December, voted first - an affirmative "no."

"This is absolutely willful hate for a small group of people that are the weakest and most vulnerable," she said.

As Republican after Republican - including those who previously expressed concern about the bill going too far - voted in favor, Berg alternated between nodding with some points and slowly crying.

The Senate passed SB 150 on a near party-line vote - 30-7. Sen. Danny Carroll, R-Benton, was the sole Republican to vote against the bill, and Sen. Robin Webb, D-Grayson, voted in favor.

The moment the bill officially cleared the Senate, opponents in the gallery screamed and shouted expletives at the lawmakers on the floor below.

Some took direct aim at Senate President Robert Stivers and Sen. Lindsey Tichenor, a freshman Republican who sponsored an unsuccessful bill to restrict drag shows.

For subscribers:From guns to drag shows: These major Kentucky bills are knocking on death's door

A recent Mason-Dixon poll question, paid for by the Fairness Campaign, found 71% of respondents felt decisions over some gender-affirming care for trans youths should be up to the parents – not the state government.

About 86% of trans or nonbinary youths said political debate around trans issues negatively impacted their mental health, according to a 2022 survey from the Trevor Project.

More than half of trans and nonbinary youths who responded to the same survey said they seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year – and 24% of them attempted suicide.

Kentucky lawmakers considered at least 10 anti-LGBTQ bills in the 2023 session, contributing to a national surge of legislation aimed at the LGBTQ community, particularly trans youths.

The Trans Legislation Tracker is following more than 460 bills across 44 states this year. By its count, 15% of anti-trans bills passed into law in 2022 – 26 out of 174 bills.

Kentucky was one of the states that passed such a measure. Last year the Kentucky legislature easily passed a bill to ban trans girls from joining girls sports teams – overlooking pleas from trans individuals and their advocates, and overriding a Beshear veto.

After the House committee vote ended, and the bill sponsors and most Republicans filed out, opponents and a handful of supportive lawmakers remained behind, hugging and crying.

Chris Hartman, who leads the Fairness Campaign, decried the rushed process from a seat in the increasingly empty room: "This is the cheapest trick they can pull!"

Timoney, a Lexington Republican, remained near the front of the room. The former educator faced a surprise attack ad campaign this year for his previous opposition to anti-trans legislation, and he voted against SB 150 in committee, too.

"When I stand before God on my judgment day, he's going to say, 'Who did you love?'" Timoney said. "And I'm going to say, 'Everybody.'"

More:Lawmakers pass bill to make Kentucky a '2nd Amendment Sanctuary'

Reach Olivia Krauth at okrauth@courierjournal.com and on Twitter at @oliviakrauth.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky Senate Bill 150: Republicans pass anti-trans legislation