Utah Legislature approves bathroom bill after alterations

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Legislature approved H.B. 257 after the Utah House and Senate reached an agreement during a conference committee on Friday.

The House of Representatives initially rejected the state Senate amendments to the controversial bathroom bill. It was originally meant to require people to use public restrooms to correspond with the sex listed on their birth certificates.

H.B. 257 was amended several times in the Senate before it passed yesterday. The bill applies to only government-owned buildings, such as universities. 

The bill does not include a provision that previously prohibited transgender individuals from entering a sex-designated bathroom. According to KSL TV, on Wednesday the bill was altered to focus on “the actions of those who commit lewd and offensive behavior in a privacy space, no matter the gender,” and “strengthens criminal charges for those who commit offensive behavior in a bathroom.”

KSL.com reports that the final version of the bill makes it clear that students cannot be charged for simply using a restroom that doesn’t align with their sex designation at birth.

Related reading: Democrats express frustration after Senate passage of gender bathroom bill

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