Florida's Proposed Transgender Bill Hits Wall In State Senate

TALLAHASSEE, FLA. — A controversial piece of legislation that would have barred transgender students from participating from girls sports is likely dead after the state Senate could not agree on how to advance the bill before the current session ends next week.

Senate Bill 2012 was scheduled to be heard Tuesday, which is the final day Senate committees are scheduled to meet this session. But the hearing was postponed, meaning that a week after the measure passed the Florida House of Representatives, the proposed legislation has hit a wall.

The bill would have required passage by both the House and Senate to find its way to the desk of Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The sponsor of the Senate version of the bill, Sen. Kelli Stargel (R-Lakeland), said she did not know if the bill would be revisited due to other pending priorities for the Senate, primarily passing a balanced budget bill.

“I believe Florida should protect the ability of girls and women to safely participate in athletics, and I think there is consensus among my colleagues surrounding that underlying policy objective,” Stargel said in a statement Tuesday. “We want to get there in a manner that respects the inherent dignity of each person."

The bill’s language would have created the Promotion of Equity of Athletic Opportunity Act, which would require certain athletic teams to be designated based on a student’s biological sex. It would also prohibit male students from participating on teams that were designated for female students.

The bill, according to its wording, would have protected girls sports teams and “respects the inherent dignity of each person.”

In a tweet, Sen. Janet Cruz, (D-Tampa), expressed pleasure in the news that the bill likely will not move on. “Ding dong the witch is dead,” she tweeted. “Rip Transgender bill.”

On Monday night, Stargel amended the bill to make it almost identical to one that passed the House last week. The biggest difference between the Senate version and House Bill 1475 was the House version mandated that schools had to resolve complaints about a student's sex with examination through a doctor or other health care provider. The student could then prove their sex through a DNA test, a testosterone set or through a doctor or other health care professional doing an examination of the student's reproductive anatomy, the bill said.

Opponents of the House bill took exception that the legislation not only kept transgender girls from playing sports but also allowed for "genital inspections" of students whose sex was being disputed, according to one state representative.

The bill passed 77-40, with votes falling mostly along party lines.

According to Transathlete.com, Florida is one of 16 states in the U.S. that have "friendly policies" to help facilitate the full inclusion of trans/non-binary/gender nonconforming students in high school athletics. The state high school athletic association's guidance states "All eligible students should have the opportunity to participate in interscholastic athletics in a manner that is consistent with their gender identity and expression, irrespective of the gender listed on a student’s birth certificate and/or records. "

Now, unless something changes in the next few days, a bill barring transgender girls from participating could be at the end of the road. After amending the bill Monday night, Stargel asked for the discussion of the bill to be postponed when it came up by the Senate Rules Committee.

The final day of the legislative session is April 30, meaning that time is short for the bill to be revisited.