February 16, 2024 |
Photo – Restroom sign – Courtesy Getty Images
At the Wyoming Legislature, a bill to mandate public restroom use by biological sex failed Thursday.
House Bill 50, known as the What is Woman Act, would mandate separate restrooms and other accommodations based on a person’s biological reproductive system rather than personal gender dysphoria.
House District 57 Representative, Jeanette Ward of Casper—a mother of two—introduced the legislation.
While the bill garnered a 37-24 majority vote in favor of introduction, the yeas fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to introduce a non-budget bill during the current budget session of the Wyoming Legislature
Carbon County’s two representatives split their votes on HB with Bob Davis of Little Snake River voting yea and Donald Burkhart of Rawlins voting no. The bill likely will return next year when only simple majority vote is needed for introduction.
Time is tight during the budget session. As of Thursday morning, 353 bills and 13 joint resolutions had been filed for the session. The deadline for new legislation was noon on Wednesday.
