It’s that time of the year when almost everyone has something to be angry about.
Yes, the Utah Legislature is in session and is approaching the final week of its 45 days of slinging legislative hash.
Besides being tasked with balancing a billion-dollar budget, lawmakers have debated several hot button issues along with a slew of message bills.
But Rep. Ray Ward, a Bountiful Republican and family physician, has learned to take all that chaos in stride.
“If you didn’t have carols and candy canes, it wouldn’t be Christmas, if you didn’t have a turkey it wouldn’t be Thanksgiving,” Ward quipped during a phone interview. “If there’s not at least two or three culture war battles where you charge in with your pitchforks, we haven’t really had a session.”
However, that built-in conflict doesn’t mean Utah is more politically peculiar than other states, Ward added.
“When there’s issues that individuals care passionately about on both sides, it shouldn’t be a surprise that there’s a legislator that’s going to run a bill about it,” Ward said. “I think Utah has avoided a fair number of pitfalls that other states have gotten themselves into, in some of these same arenas.”
Current culture war
When Rep. Kera Birkeland, a Morgan Republican, presented her bill to bar transgender girls from playing on girls’ elementary, junior and senior high school teams, she touted how far women had advanced from the days when they were relegated to applauding their male counterparts rather than participating themselves.
Then she warned that transgender girls could erase that progress.
“Across America, there are stories of individuals who identified as male at birth, competing against our female athletes,” Birkeland told members of the House Education Committee earlier this month. “These individuals … are breaking records that no female will be able to reach.”
Gayle Ruzicka, leader of Utah’s powerful Eagle Forum, has long understood the importance of speaking out on pending legislation, leaving her mark on Utah’s Capitol for the past three decades.
“Science and common sense tells us that males are generally bigger, faster, stronger than females. They have larger hearts, denser bones, stronger muscles. If we allow men to participate in women’s sports, the message is that you deserve equal opportunities except in sports,” Ruzicka said in support of Birkeland’s bill.
But Troy Williams, executive director for Equality Utah — who said he got his start on Utah’s Capitol Hill 30 years ago as an intern for Ruzicka’s Eagle Forum — now countered her perspective, cautioning against the harm HB 302 would inflict on transgender children.
“It tells some children you can’t play, you don’t belong on the field. And that’s discrimination … Let’s slow this down, let’s collaborate together so we don’t have this big ugly culture war,” Williams urged legislators.
When controversial bills heat up, their economic impact can wield significant clout. David Spatafore, a lobbyist for the Utah High School Activities Association, assured lawmakers that his organization would be “at the tip of the spear” if Birkeland’s bill becomes law.
“We are the ones who will be litigated first,” Spatafore said.
The UHSAA’s current transgender policy — established in response to litigation against Idaho’s similar measure — states that: a female receiving hormone treatments to transition to a male will participate on boys’ teams; a male transitioning to female without hormones will play on boys’ teams; and a male who has used hormone treatments for a year to transition to a female may play on girls’ teams.
“We support fairness and equity,” Spatafore said, noting UHSAA’s 80,000-plus participants. “We know there will be litigation if this bill passes … which puts us at a very dangerous disadvantage right now.”
The pandemic of 2020 dealt significant blows to the typical revenue streams that fuel UHSAA, Spatafore said.
Heidi Matthews, president of the Utah Education Association, marveled that they’d even consider extending such a ban to grades K-12, noting that she knows several children in the process of transitioning.
“These transgender students are at the highest levels of not wanting to live. This bill is harmful and unnecessary and will not further protect female athletes,” Matthews said.
Late in the afternoon of Feb. 24, members of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee heard Birkeland’s presentation HB 302, followed by extensive public input.
Dr. Nicole Mihalopoulos, the medical director of Gender Management and Support at Primary Children’s Hospital, spoke to HB 302 from a place of science.
“Transgender girls are not men. Most children have developed their gender identity — the internal sense of being male, female, a little of both or not quite either — by the time they’re four to five years old,” Mihalopoulos said. “This may or may not be consistent with the sex they were assigned at birth.”
She also noted that prepubescent youth are not physiologically different from each other.
“Once children begin puberty there are potential differences in strength and lung capacity — but these vary across youth,” Mihalopoulos said. “Transgender girls receiving gender affirming medical care that blocks testosterone have testosterone levels in the same range as their cisgender female peers.”
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, transgender teens adolescents and adults experience high rates of anxiety, depression, eating disorders, self-harm, and suicide.
Almost a decade ago, the American Psychiatric Association issued this statement: “Being transgender or gender variant implies no impairment in judgment, stability, reliability, or general social or vocational capabilities; however, these individuals often experience discrimination due to a lack of civil rights protections for their gender identity or expression”.… which can be damaging to their mental health.
The meeting had stretched on for more than three hours by the time members chose to adjourn without taking a vote on HB 302. But for many in the room and listening online, that action signalled a victory. The bill needed further study.
Slow it down
When HB 302 came up for House floor debate on Feb. 17, Rep. Ward was one of 23 House members who voted against it. But they were far outnumbered by the 50 who chose to advance it to the Senate.
“To me, it’s clearly not a problem in elementary, and has not been a problem so far in high school,” Ward said by phone as he explained his “no” vote. “But I’m sure the issue will be quick upon us … I would prefer a standard based on hormone levels, although I know those aren’t perfect either. I think that’s a better place to start.
During his weekly press conference, Gov. Spencer Cox said he understood male advantages in sports, but he also urged legislative caution.
“This is where you have to be so very careful. If you have not spent time with transgender youth, I encourage you to pause on this issue,” Cox said. “We have so many people that are in a very difficult spot right now … We’ve gotten really good on the LGBQ side of things, we’re struggling on the T side of things.”
During the House floor debate on HB 302, Rep. Doug Owens, a Salt Lake City Democrat, also sought a pause.
“Despite the extensive national commentary on this issue, only one state (Idaho) has actually enacted a ban on transgender people in sports,” Owens told his fellow legislators. “And their experience has been tough … They’ve had their statute blocked in litigation with the court saying expressly that they are likely to lose.”
The ACLU of Utah has come out in opposition to HB 302, along with the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce, which boasts a statewide membership representing more than 63,000 employers.
The other T bill
As Birkeland’s bill traveled through the House, another transgender bill stalled out.
Rep. Rex Shipp, a Cedar City Republican, sponsored HB 92, a measure that would make it unprofessional conduct when a physician helps a transgender minor start to transition.
Last Friday, the House Health & Human Services Committee heard heated debate on Shipp’s bill and voted 10-3 to return HB 92 to Rules — typically a sign that it will not come up for further consideration.
Ward was among the 10 who voted to sideline the measure. In a phone interview, he voiced concern about getting in the middle of decisions between minor children, their parents and medical professionals.
“To me the lines that the bill drew … i don’t think they’re in line with where the medical establishment draws those lines today as best as it can,” Ward said. “I do think that bill started to put legislative bounds down in a place where it would be better to wait for medicine to become more clear about exactly what it says.”
The Utah Eagle Forum and various individuals voiced strong support for HB 92, while YWCA Utah, ACLU Utah and the Salt Lake Chamber opposed the measure based on health and safety issues.
Ratify the ERA?
Sen. Kathleen Riebe’s aim for Utah lawmakers to ratify the decades-old Equal Rights Amendment by way of Senate Joint Resolution 8 also stalled early in the session.
The ERA would amend the U.S. Constituiton to ensure equal rights for women, and that no one can be discriminated against based on their sex.
For that amendment to become part of the U.S. Constitution, 38 state legislatures would need to ratify the language.
According to the Brennan Center, Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the ERA since Congress proposed it in 1972. While that vote technically pushed the ERA over the threshold, hurdles still remain: ratification deadlines set by Congress have lapsed, and five states rescinded their prior approval.
Pushback against the ERA gathered steam through the 1970s under the leadership of conservative housewife Phyllis Schaffly. Her followers feared it would usher in decay of traditional family values and gender roles. Schaffly’s zeal planted the seeds of the nationwide movement known as the Eagle Forum.
During a recent virtual debate hosted by the Utah League of Women Voters, Women’s March SLC and the Utah ERA Coalition, Ruzicka squared off with Sen. Riebe — a Democrat from Cottonwood Heights.
Ruzicka spoke of her close bond with Schaffly, describing her as a dear friend and “like my other mother.” Schaffly asked Ruzicka to launch Utah’s Eagle Forum chapter in 1989.
While several issues came up during the Ruzicka-Riebe debate, abortion dominated much of the discussion.
Ruzicka said she opposed the ERA because “It would be used to overturn all restrictions on abortion (late term and partial birth abortions included.”
She also detailed a litany of other negative impacts she believed would surely follow: the elimination of special accommodations for pregnant women, rolling back of state labor laws for women who do heavy manual work, and nixing government programs that support mothers — such as Social Security benefits for stay-at-home moms based on their husbands’ income.
Michelle Quist, an attorney and Salt Lake Tribune columnist, moderated the online debate and pressed Ruzicka on her fears about the ERA’s effect on abortion.
“Isn’t it true that abortion is already embedded in the Constitution with the Supreme Court’s recognition of a person’s right to privacy? And isn’t it true that the equality clause in Utah’s state constitution has not resulted in state funded abortions?” Quist asked Ruzicka.
“I’m not sure what you’re asking,” Ruzicka said. “The way the federal Equal Rights Amendment is written, that would pretty much codify abortion because a woman under equal rights would say ‘if a man doesn’t have to have a baby, then I don’t have to have a baby.’”
Ruzicka’s hope is that one day Roe v. Wade will be overturned: “We’re getting close to that,” she said.
But Riebe countered that ratifying the ERA would not eliminate protections for the unborn, pointing to several guardrails Utah lawmakers have put in place over the years.
“Every year we have new bills that are introduced to restrict these medical choices,” Riebe said. “So I disagree. I think we have a lot of people who are really in need of medical attention, so the limits are always being pushed and Utah effectively … comes up with ways to make sure we don’t get too far out of this lane.”
2021 abortion bills
A few states have either outlawed abortion (Alabama) or banned the procedure after six weeks of pregnancy or around the time a fetal heartbeat can first be detected.(Georgia and Ohio). Missouri is the next most restrictive, with its ban at eight weeks.
In comparison, conservative Utah seems more middle of the road with its efforts to require informed consent, namely that any woman seeking an abortion view a state health dapartment module that details what the procedure entails.
However, in 2020, Utah lawmakers did approve legislation to ban most abortions if Roe v. Wade gets overturned. If that measure takes effect, physicians or women could face felony charges for terminating a pregnancy.
Utah lawmakers also required abortion clinics to either cremate or bury fetal remains. And in 2019, Utah legislators banned abortions after 18 weeks.
This year, three abortion bills were filed:
- Rep. Ward’s HB 164 would allow women to complete the abortion information module online and obtain the necessary completion certificate without first getting a referral from their doctor
- Rep. Cheryl Acton’s HB 231 would make transporting aborted fetal remains out of state a Class B misdemeanor
- Rep. Steve Christiansen’s HB 253 would impose a $50,000 fine on a physician who violates the informed consent process related to the abortion information module
With the session winding down — March 5 is the last day — Acton’s bill was not considered when it came up for a committee hearing on Feb. 25, and Ward’s and Christiansen’s bills remain parked in Rules.
“It’s the tiniest bill,” Ward said in a phone interview when asked about HB 164. “(The woman) still has to watch the module and confirm that she has, but she doesn’t have to go see her provider (to do that).”
Who’s angry?
In a quick (and unscientific) query on Facebook, people responded to the question: “Any pending Utah legislation making you angry these days?”
Responses included:
“A better question — easier to answer — is what is NOT making you angry.
“All the gun legislation!”
“There’s a bill to allow cyclists to treat stop signs like yield signs. But one particular senator seems to be killing it in committee.”
“SB61 billboard bill.”
“Judkins HB 68 Fee disclosure and Bennion’s 24 hour notice bills. Common CENTS for most BIG $ for a few.”
“HB 168 … It’s a terrible bill that takes options away from sexual assault survivors.”
“Contact your Senator and Rep and tell them: NO on SB 205 Election Process Amendments. They want to make four types/paths for parties with the main goal of ruling out candidates who collect signatures.”
“Exciting session! I’m glad I don’t have to be there.”
“Ah, the Utah legislative session — 45 days where I hold my breath and wonder how screwed I’m going to be before it’s over.”
Angela Urrea, a Weber County resident who unsuccessfully ran as a Democrat in 2016 for the House District 29 slot, weighed in:
“There seems to be a preposterous amount of regressive legislation designed to make a tiny minority of right wing extremist happy and everyone else dazed and confused,” Urrea said, pointing to “the removal of conceal carry permits, the anti trans youth hate bills, yet another move to restrict abortion rights, and the move to punish electric car owners.”
“Thankfully few of these measures have actually passed,” she added, warning that last-minute bills could fly through without public comment during the final frenzied days of the session.
If so, she predicts a special session will be called “to fix these draconian message (bills) after public outrage and lawsuits ensue.”
“You know, another typical session under far right management,” Urrea said.
By Feb. 27, the Legislature has passed 197 bills this session, of which Gov. Spencer Cox has signed 24 – including one that got rid of the concealed carry permit requirement.
