Transgender bill awaits a vote in the Senate after an unusual bipartisan vote waters it down; outcome remains uncertain

UPDATE, 6:50 p.m. March 16: The Senate agreed to the changes made to Senate Bill 150 and passed it on a vote of 30-7. It now goes to Gov. Andy Beshear's desk for his consideration. 

UPDATE, 4:44 p.m. March 16: The House passed Senate Bill 150 with an amendment that included some of the provisions of  House Bill 470 on a vote of  75-22  It now goes to the Senate for concurrence or non-concurrence. 

UPDATE, 1:55 p.m. March 16: A House committee approved a substitute Senate Bill 150 that keeps some of the House-passed provisions of House Bill 470. If passed by the House the revised SB 150 could become the vehicle for House-Senate negotiations later today. The Lexington Herald-Leader has a story.

By Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News

The state Senate voted 19-17 Wednesday night to water down a House bill that would limit gender-affirming medical care for Kentucky's minors, but a vote on the revised version was delayed until Thursday. 

Sen. Danny Carroll

House Bill 447, sponsored by Rep. Jennifer Decker, R-Waddy (Shelby County), was called up for a vote with five floor amendments proposed. All but Floor Amendment 2, submitted by Sen. Danny Carroll, R-Benton, were withdrawn.

Carroll's wide-ranging amendment got the votes of 12 of the 30 Republican senators and all seven of the chanber's Democats. The Republican majority generally does not advance bills that are not supported by most Republican senators.

Senate President Robert Stivers, who voted against the bill, told the Lexington Herald-Leader that he couldn't predict what the Senate would do on the issue. “I think there was a lack of knowledge as to what all the amendments in the subject matter meant,” he said. “This is not the easiest of subject-matter topics.”

Like Decker's bill, Carroll's measure still prohibits surgical medical treatments for trans youth. However, it would allow some nonsurgical medical treatment options with the consent of the child's parent or legal guardian.

In order to qualify for the nonsurgical medical treatment, the child must have a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria and the treatment must be provided by a licensed physician who is appropriately trained and experienced in providing it. It also calls for the child to be under the care of a clinical psychologist or psychiatrist. 

The revised bill defines which reversable puberty-blocking drugs are allowed and says treatment shall not include cross-sex hormones, like testosterone or estrogen, in amounts that are larger or more potent that would naturally be found in a healthy person of the same age and sex.  

It says all care must meet evidence-based medical standards for treatment of children with gender dysphoria and include mental-health services that address a  person's sex or gender but don't promote gender transition. 

Carroll's amendment removed the original bill's provisions that would have blocked a transgender youth from legally changing their name or birth certificate. It kept in place language from two bills that were added in a Senate committee: Teachers would not be required to use a student's preferred pronouns, and parents would gain more say about sex education and discussions about sexual orientation in schools would be prohibited. 

Besides Stivers, others voting against the amendment were Republican Sens. Gary Boswell of Owensboro, Donald Douglas of Nicholasville; Shelley Funke Frommeyer of Alexandria; Rick Girdler of Somerset; Jimmy Higdon of Lebanon, Robby Mills of Henderson, John Schickel of Union, Adrienne Southworth of Lawrenceburg, Damon Thayer of Georgetown; Lindsey Tichenor of Smithfield; Johnnie Turner of Harlan; Stephen West of Paris; Phillip Wheeler of Pikeville; Gex Williams pf Verona; Mike Wilson of Bowling Green, and Max Wise of Campbellsville. 

If the Senate passes the amended bill on Thursday, that will give the chambers a few hours to work out their differences and send the bill to the governor's desk ahead of the veto period. Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear is expected to veto the bill if he gets it. The supermajority of Republicans could easily override a veto, but only if the bill gains final passage on Thursday.

Even before the latest overhaul of the bill made in the Senate, the bill had already undergone several changes. 

The bill that passed out of the House on a 75-22 vote would have banned any treatment that supported gender transition for Kentucky's minors, including puberty-blocking hormones and gender re-assignment surgery. It also included a 30-year window for lawsuits against health-care providers who provided any gender-affirming care to minors, among other things. Changes from the original bill that were made in committee removed mental health care providers from the list  of providers who couldn't treat youth seeking gender affirming care.

The Senate Families and Children Committee added more changes to the bill March 14, including the addition of Senate Bill 150, sponsored by Sen. Max Wise, R-Campbellsville, which prohibits schools from requiring teachers to use a trans student's preferred pronouns and requires schools to notify parents about any content related to sexuality. It also included content from HB 177, sponsored by Rep. Shane Baker, R-Somerset, which does not allow any sex education to children in grades five and below and bans all students from receiving instruction that explores "gender identity, gender expression or sexual orientation." These changes remained in Carroll's amended version of the bill. 

The amended bill passed out of the committee 6-3. Carroll and fellow Republicans Whitney Westerfield of Fruit Hill (Christian County), Julie Raque Adams of Louisville voted "yes" but called for significant changes in the final version.

“I’m extremely uncomfortable putting myself in the place where a doctor should be. I don't have the training. I don't have the knowledge to make decisions,” said Carroll. “However, I feel a complete obligation to protect our kids. I too don't like the bill. I hate the tone of the bill. I think we could have accomplished what we needed to accomplish without going so far."