The Wyoming House of Representatives on Monday sent a proposed bill expanding Wyoming’s ban on biologically-born males competing in female-only sports to the state Senate.
If it becomes law, House Bill 60 would expand Wyoming’s 2-year-old ban on males competing in girls’ interscholastic sports — which affects grades seven through 12 — to all school ages from kindergarten through college. It would also expand the ban to intramural athletic activities, and it would forbid schools from competing against outside teams which the school, “to a reasonable degree of certainty,” believes has a biologically male player rostered on a female team.
The bill would expand the state’s ban to non-public schools.
In its final House vote Monday, 51 state representatives voted to send HB 60 to the Senate. The six Democratic members of the House of Representatives raised the only nay votes against it, and five delegates were excused as absent.
Hot On Its Heels
While the bill heads to the Senate, another one like it was just hitting the House floor after passing the House Labor, Health and Social Services Committee with one nay-vote Monday.
House Bill 274 has the similar goal of keeping biologically-born males out of female-only sports. It would expand the existing ban to college only, but not down to kindergarten as HB 60 aspires.
Both bills would let students (or their parents) who can identify a harm from transgender sports participation sue schools or other government agencies for money damages or other relief.
And both bills would let schools sue accrediting organizations and athletic associations that harm them by making them include players born as males in female-only sports.
Both pieces of legislation surfaced after the University of Wyoming women’s volleyball team took two forfeit losses for not playing against San Jose State University, which had a transgender player in its lineup last fall.
Why All This?
Rep. Mike Yin, D-Jackson, placed the only nay vote against HB 274 Monday in the committee.
He voiced concerns about the House advancing two bills modifying the same section of law, at roughly the same time.
“Help me understand,” Yin asked of HB 274’s sponsor, Rep. Rachel Rodriguez-Williams, R-Cody. “The bill we have in second reading on the floor – how do the bills interact?”
Rodriguez-Williams said she believes her bill is cleaner than HB 60. She also said she can't tell what will happen in a "consent committee," which is a selection of House and Senate members chosen to reconcile and compromise different bill approachesto the same issue between the two legislative chambers in the final hours of the legislative process.
Later committee testimony revealed that HB 274 doesn’t expand to intramural sports, as HB 60 does.
Rodriguez-Williams offered an amendment to expand her bill’s reach down to kindergarten as well, but the committee voted that proposition down.
HB 274 now heads to the House for three readings, during which other delegates will have the chance to amend it. HB 60 is going to the Senate for the same process in that chamber.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.