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After a long hiatus, Vermont lawmakers are once again advancing a bill requiring that single-occupancy public restrooms be designated as “gender free.”
The Senate has given preliminary approval to H.333, which says all public bathrooms designed for one user at a time must be “available for use by persons of any gender” and labeled as such.
Tuesday’s vote came nearly a year after the bill was approved by the House. There was no debate or dissension on the matter this time around, and the bill appears likely to be heading for passage before the end of this year’s legislative session.
“This is a pretty straightforward, innocuous bill,” said Sen. Becca Balint, D-Windham and the Senate’s majority leader. “But the issue itself is extremely important to many Vermonters.”
The introduction of H.333 last year came amid a national debate about transgender rights.
In early 2017, President Donald Trump had revoked federal guidelines allowing transgender students in public schools to choose a restroom based on their gender identity. And in 2016, the state of North Carolina enacted a law – later repealed – requiring transgender people to choose a public restroom based on the gender on their birth certificates.
“I would not say (H.333) was a reaction to those things,” said Rep. Selene Colburn, P-Burlington, who introduced the legislation last year. “But I think the bill would provide a very important counterpoint to those things.”
Vermont’s bill does not require owners of public buildings to install new restrooms. And it does not apply to restrooms designed for multiple people at the same time.
It says simply that single-occupancy restrooms in “a public building or place of public accommodation” must be gender-neutral and open to all. The bill defines single occupancy as any facility “with at least one water closet and with an outer door that can be locked by the occupant.”
The legislation references existing state statutes for a definition of what constitutes a “public building.” Examples of public buildings include those owned by the government as well as schools, hospitals, restaurants, stores, offices, hotels and houses of worship.
A “place of public accommodation” is defined as “any school, restaurant, store, establishment or other facility at which services, facilities, goods, privileges, advantages, benefits or accommodations are offered to the general public.”
While the bill is far-reaching in that regard, advocates say it isn’t onerous. The legislation says a single-occupancy restroom can be marked with a sign, as long as the sign “does not indicate any specific gender.”
“The bill requires minimal effort and minimal investment,” Balint said. “A sign change is all that is required.”
While there are clear benefits to gender-neutral restrooms – eliminating gender restrictions is likely to alleviate long lines, for example – the bill’s primary purpose is clear.
“For trans people and gender-nonconforming individuals, it provides safe public accommodations,” Balint said.
Testimony in favor of the law, submitted to the House Committee on General, Housing and Military Affairs last spring, included stories of frustration and confusion.
“For those who think this is “silly” – I wonder if you could tell that to my 13-year-old’s face after a long day of not using a bathroom. Or crying because they were challenged and had no one to speak up for them,” wrote Shay Totten of Burlington, who said he is the father of a transgender teen.
Bakersfield resident Brenda Churchill, who is transgender, told lawmakers that, when traveling, “I often have single-user toilets already mapped out so that I do not even worry about where to stop.”
Churchill testified that H.333 “is really a simple bill” requiring restroom labeling that “makes sense.”
“Remembering that this bill applies to everyone and hurts no one is what is important,” Churchill wrote. “Vermont is a state that often has shown the rest of the United States where to go and how to get there.”
The bill also received support from the Vermont Human Rights Commission and the state’s chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.
Last April, the House endorsed H.333 on a 123-19 roll-call vote. But it was too late in the session for the bill to advance further.
The Senate’s version – which requires one more vote, scheduled for Wednesday – makes minor changes to the bill, mostly related to plumbing regulations. So the bill will have to go back to the House for final consideration.
If the bill passes, it may not change much in Vermont. Even without a legal requirement for gender-free restrooms, “I think a lot of people have been moving in that direction,” Colburn said.
But Colburn also said it remains “surprisingly common to be in an establishment that only has single-occupancy restrooms where they are still assigned by gender.”
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