BISMARCK — Gov. Doug Burgum on Tuesday, April 26, signed a bill restricting transgender people's use of restrooms in certain facilities.
The Legislature also sent him a bill restricting sex amendments to birth records.
Burgum signed House Bill 1473 by Rep. SuAnn Olson, R-Baldwin, which will require jails, prisons and public college dorms to designate bathrooms and showers “for use exclusively for males or exclusively for females.”
The legislation will require the public facilities to make special restroom and shower accommodations for transgender people “as deemed appropriate by the administrator.”
Supporters of the bill say it ensures safety and privacy for women. Opponents see the bill as denying rights to transgender people. The House passed it 78-14 and the Senate 42-5.
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The bill is among roughly a dozen introduced this session that would impact transgender people. North Dakota Republican lawmakers have shown an elevated interest in legislation targeting gender identity, a trend nationwide.
Burgum last week signed a bill criminalizing gender-affirming health care for minors. Earlier this month he also signed two bills to restrict transgender athletes in K-12 and collegiate athletics, after vetoing similar legislation in 2021.
In March Burgum rejected a bill restricting schools' use of students' preferred gender pronouns, a veto the House sustained.
Birth records
House Bill 1297 by Rep. Jim Kasper, R-Fargo, would ban amendment of sex designation on birth records “due to a gender identity change,” with few exceptions, such as a data entry error or if “the sex of the individual was changed with anatomically correct genitalia for the identified sex as certified by a medical provider.”
The bill essentially would make law the current practice of the state Vital Records Division.
The House on Tuesday passed the bill 79-11, and the Senate on Wednesday, 43-4, after a conference committee met.
Forum News Service reporter Jeremy Turley contributed to this story.
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