NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A watered-down Tennessee bill spelling out that the state’s public indecency law applies to bathrooms and changing rooms for single-sex, multi-person use is heading toward floor votes.
The bill by Republican Rep. John Ragan passed a House panel Wednesday. It could soon receive House and Senate floor votes.
The Tennessee Equality Project has said the bill’s sections targeting transgender people were removed.
Previously, Ragan said he carried the bill due to confusion created when Obama-era regulations instructed schools to allow students to use bathrooms and locker rooms of their expressed gender identity instead of their sex assigned at birth.
Ragan argued Wednesday he wants to provide clarity in the law.
Democratic Rep. Bo Mitchell argued the amended bill makes a political stance without changing anything in practice in the law.