An anti-transgender bill that would bar people from using restrooms that align with their gender identities will be voted on by a committee March 4.
The Civil Justice Subcommittee is slated to discuss HB 583, filed Feb. 7 by Republican State Rep. Frank Artiles of Miami and titled “Single-Sex Public Facilities.”
“If it is not tabled or defeated tomorrow, it would have to go through two more committees to get to the House floor,” said EQFL spokesman Jim Harper, who added that there is not a companion version in the Senate but there is a similar version of the bill that has not gotten any committee assignments yet.
On the Florida House of Representative’s website the description of the bill reads: “Requires that use of single-sex facilities be restricted to persons of sex for which facility is designated; prohibits knowingly and willfully entering single-sex public facility designated for or restricted to persons of other biological sex; provides exemptions; provides private cause of action against violators; provides for preemption.”
The bill opens up businesses and schools to lawsuits filed by anyone who claims to witness someone using a restroom that does not align with their biological sex.
“This is a very dehumanizing bill but beyond that, it’s also an absolute disaster for business because it’s an invitation for lawsuits, so a number of business groups are speaking against it,” Harper said.
He said EQFL and other groups are reaching out to Civil Justice Subcommittee members in the hopes that they can be persuaded that the bill is “a bad idea.”
Florida’s 2015 legislative session kicked off March 3. There is at least one other bill of LGBT interest up for consideration. The Florida Competitive Workforce Act is a statewide bill that aims at prohibiting discrimination against LGBTs in employment, housing and public accommodations. Versions have been filed in both the House and Senate, and the House version is also parked in the Civil Justice Subcommitee, but neither version has made it onto an agenda yet.
