The Vermont House approved a bill Friday that requires all single-occupancy public bathrooms be open to everybody and not be restricted by gender.
The bill passed 123-19.
Supporters of H.333, including House Minority Leader Jill Krowinski, said the measure would promote inclusiveness, particularly for transgender people. Opponents said the bill amounted to government overreach.
Under the proposal, all single-occupancy toilets open to the public would be labeled as “gender-free’’ and could no longer be designated exclusively for men or women. The bill would apply to restaurants and other businesses open to the public, as well as buildings owned by state and local governments.
The bill is unlikely to be voted on by the full Senate this year.
The Vermont bill is a backlash to national efforts to require transgender people, including students, to use the bathroom of the gender when they were born.
In February, President Donald Trump rescinded protections for transgender students that allowed them to use bathrooms that corresponded with their gender identity, rejecting the position of the Obama administration that schools were required to allow transgender students to use the bathroom of their choice.
In 2016, North Carolina passed a law that required people to use the bathroom that matches the sex on their birth certificate. The law last month was partially repealed after boycotts and economic pressure, including moving the NBA All-Star Game and some NCAA championship games.
Last year, the South Dakota Legislature approved a bill requiring public school students to use bathrooms and locker rooms based on their sex at birth. The governor vetoed it.
Also in 2016, California passed the first law in the country requiring single-person toilet facilities to be labeled as “all-gender.”
This year, the state senate in Texas passed a bill that does not include the explicit language originally adopted by North Carolina. Instead, the state senate banned cities from adopting non-discrimination ordinances that would apply to restrooms.
Rep. Robert Frenier, R-Chelsea, voted against the measure in part because it would require religious institutions where men and women worship separately to allow members of the opposite sex to use the bathrooms.
Rep. Marianna Gamache, R-Swanton, said the bill would violate religious freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment.
“This is overreach by the Vermont state government,” Gamache said in explaining her no vote.
Rep. Krowinski, D-Burlington, said she supported the bill “because it sends a message that we value all Vermonters and strive for inclusiveness.
The bill passed the House a month after the “crossover deadline” when legislation from one body is supposed to move over to the other in order to be considered.
Sen. President Tim Ashe, D/P-Chittenden, said the House-passed bill would be sent to the Senate Rules Committee, but he said it was unlikely the full Senate would act this year.
“It’s not on the merits of the bill,” Ashe said.
Several committees with likely jurisdiction have shut down for this year, he said.
Ashe said the measure might be taken up by the full Senate next year in the second half of the two-year biennium.
Gov. Phil Scott’s spokesperson, Rebecca Kelley, said the governor would not oppose the bill.
House Speaker Mitzi Johnson, D-South Hero, said: “In an era when Legislatures across the country are rolling back fundamental rights and dignities, I am proud that Vermont is being a leader for gender equality by expanding access to bathrooms, rather than restricting access.”
She added: “We’ve heard heartbreaking testimony on this issue, including stories of children afraid to use the restroom at school. If the federal government isn’t going to protect Vermonters, it is our duty to step in.”
