Last-minute combination of ‘anti-trans’ bills headed to Beshear’s desk

FRANKFORT, Ky. (WKYT) - A controversial bill that addresses multiple transgender issues has passed the General Assembly.

House Bill 470 deals with restricting gender-affirming medical treatments. Thursday parts of the bill were added to Senate Bill 150, which deals with educators not being required to use pronouns and requires parental notification on sexually related matters.

Senate Bill 150 was quickly passed in a House Education Committee with the changes added from House Bill 470.

SB 150 deals with educators not being required to use pronouns and requires parental notification on sexually related matters. The changes from HB 470 deal with preventing health care providers from performing surgery on a minor to change his or her sex and with subject matter referred to as “the bathroom bill.”

The bill passed 16-5 in committee, then was debated on the House floor. Numerous lawmakers, mostly Democrats, spoke out against the measure.

After an hours-long debate, Senate Bill 150 was passed by the House in a 75 to 22 vote.

Since the House made changes to the bill, had to be reapproved by the Senate again.

Thursday afternoon, the Senate passed the bill by a vote of 30 to 7.

The passage led to tense discussions on and off the Senate floor.

“This is absolute, willful, intentional hate,” said Senator Karen Berg, D-Lousiville. “Hate for a small group of people that are the weakest and the most vulnerable among us.”

“I find this so hypocritical that people can do this for this legislation but can turn a blind eye to 50 years of Roe v Wade that killed 63 million innocent babies so don’t lecture me about caring for children when you openly support murder of innocent children,” said Sen. Stephen Meredith, R-Leitchfield.

“The standards of care we currently follow for gender-affirming care in Kentucky, which would be made illegal, if and when this becomes law, already do the things they say they want done. So this bill is not about protecting children. It’s culture wars at its most deplorable,” said trans woman Emma Curtis.

Curtis shared her own testimony with legislators and listened as both the House and the Senate passed this bill.

“We’re just people and we deserve the same right to happiness and self-determination as anyone else,” said Curtis.

The Bill now heads to the Governor’s desk.

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