This month is one of the busiest times of the year in Harrisburg as legislators work to hammer out and pass the annual state budget. Unfortunately, other non-funding-related legislation, including several LGBT-inclusive bills introduced this session, are being put on the back burner for now.
PGN checked in with state lawmakers on the status of key LGBT-related legislation.
Nondiscrimination
Introduced last session by Rep. Dan Frankel (D-23rd Dist.), HB 300 is often regarded as the most important bill for LGBT Pennsylvanians. The long-awaited legislation would add sexual orientation and gender identity to the classes protected from discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations.
Interest in the bill received an unlikely boost in early April following the debacle in Indiana over the passing of a state-level Religious Freedom Restoration Act — legislation many believe essentially grants business owners and corporations a license to discriminate against LGBT individuals.
“We did have several members sign onto the bill after the Indiana debacle,” Frankel said. “I think as members continue to see other states passing bad bills (Michigan, North Carolina), we’ll continue to attract sponsors to the nondiscrimination bill.”
But the bill has yet to actually be introduced this session.
“We continue to engage advocates and other legislators to build a solid network of support for the bill prior to introduction,” said Frankel. “That process is ongoing.”
So far, 84 sponsors have signed on to the bill, four more than when PGN last spoke to Frankel in April. The same number of Republicans, 15, are sponsors.
Frankel said he’s still facing opposition from certain House Republicans.
“We want to introduce the bill before the end of the month, but our work to get it ready for introduction is ongoing,” he said.
Conversion therapy
This flashpoint issue, which concerns the effort to “convert” LGBs, often minors, to heterosexual identities has drawn out some of the most vocal opponents of such practices. In 2013, neighbor state New Jersey banned conversion therapy; currently, California, Oregon and Washington, D.C., also outlaw the practice for minors.
After introducing a conversion-therapy bill last session that did not move forward, state Rep. Brian Sims (D-182nd) introduced HB 935 again in April — standing by one of his most important platform issues.
“Right now, the bill is in the house health committee,” said Mason Lane, Sims’ chief of staff. “It was referred there when it was introduced. We haven’t seen much movement on it yet. We’re still trying to get a hearing on the bill.”
Lane cited the time- and attention-consuming passage of the state budget as a reason for the bill’s stalling.
“There is also still broad resistance to LGBT civil-rights issues in Pennsylvania and the legislature,” Lane said. “As well as a lack of understanding about what conversion therapy is and how harmful it can be.”
Thus, Lane said much of the bill contains informative text on the issue.
“A lot of the actual text itself is taken up with policy declarations from institutions and organizations from around the country,” he said. “It explains why this is so harmful.”
The bill currently has 19 cosponsors, who Lane said represent a diverse geographic range throughout Pennsylvania.
“We always try and draw more cosponsors, but the primary focus is at the committee level,” Lane said. “We are always talking to other representatives and staff, though.”
Lane said he hopes to see movement on the bill in the fall.
“We are always pushing our legislative initiatives, but I think the fall is a realistic timeline right now. Our primary goal remains to get the bill a hearing in the health committee.”
Transgender issues
State Rep. Mark Cohen (D-202nd Dist.) made good on his promise to introduce two bills this session that would extend unprecedented rights to transgender Pennsylvanians.
The first, HB 303, would amend the Public School Code to eliminate gender-based restrictions and prerequisites for transgender students. The bill would allow all students who identify with a certain gender to use that gender’s spaces and would bar harassment in gender-segregated spaces.
The second, HB 304, would expand health-care coverage for transgender individuals, which would require coverage of transition-related care, including hormone therapy, mental-health care and surgery in all private, public and Medicaid plans, the latter being critical to a group experiencing a high poverty rate.
The bills, which each have 10 cosponsors, are currently in the education and health committees, respectively.
“I frankly do not expect them to be reported out of committee in this session,” Cohen said. “However, they remain important because they set forth what ought to be policy; they’re guidelines in a way that will hopefully influence school districts and insurance companies throughout the state.”
Cohen noted that a clear lack of votes and conservatism in the legislature would prevent the laws from being enacted in the foreseeable future.
“People feel they’re good bills and are interested in seeing what happens,” said Cohen, “but it takes a while for people to get comfortable with new ideas. Most legislators weren’t aware of transgender people five years ago. It takes time for them to build up to a comfort level.”
Cohen encouraged advocates of the bills to contact their legislators.
“The more contact transgender people have with legislators, the better it will be for bills like the ones I’ve introduced, and the more support we will get for this type of legislation in the future.”
Anti-bullying
The Pennsylvania Safe Schools (PASS) Act, HB 156, is a comprehensive anti-bullying bill that defines and outlines policies and procedures for reporting and handling bullying in Pennsylvania public schools.
The bill provides explicit protections for students based on actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.
Introduced by Rep. Dan Truitt (R-156th Dist.), the legislation boasts 63 cosponsors and enjoys broad bipartisan support.
However, parts of the bill were seen by critics as placing an undue fiscal burden on schools.
“We are in the process of reworking the bill to further reduce the burden on schools,” Truitt said. “The main challenge is getting the bill to a form where it will not be regarded as another ‘unfunded mandate’ on our schools.”
The bill was scheduled for a committee vote, but stakeholders halted it after raising the aforementioned concerns.
“As soon as we finish preparing an amendment, we expect to reschedule the vote,” Truitt said.
He added he expects to have the amendment completed in time for the bill to run in the fall.
Hate crimes
Following the Center City Philadelphia gay-bashing incident last September, the lack of a statewide LGBT-inclusive hate crimes law shocked many.
State Rep. Kevin Boyle (D-172nd Dist.) introduced HB 218 while momentum was hot, but the bill never cleared the judiciary committee, where it still remains.
However, Boyle said it continues to be a top priority.
“Since the winter, I’ve had the opportunity to sit down and discuss the urgency of passing HB 218 with the Wolf administration,” he said. “The governor’s office has expressed full support for the bill and plans to make it a priority.”
Boyle noted that the appointment of Dr. Rachel Levine, Pennsylvania’s first transgender physician general, has helped regain some of the momentum that cooled between legislative sessions.
“Her appointment has certainly helped us regain momentum and to start to have serious discussions about moving forward anti-discrimination legislation like this,” he said.
Despite all the attention in Harrisburg on the budget, Boyle remains optimistic about the future of the bill, which has 48 cosponsors.
“As we enter the busiest time of the legislative year, I am confident we will get this bill out of the judiciary committee very soon,” he said.