Liz McCormick Published

Transgender Athlete Bill Passes Its Second Committee, Heads To W.Va. House Floor

Del. Moore Capito, R-Kanawha, is the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

A bill placing restrictions on transgender athletes in middle and high school in West Virginia is on the fast track in the House of Delegates.

The House Judiciary Committee passed HB 3293 late Friday afternoon. It was passed out of its originating committee just two days earlier.

The bill requires that a student’s birth certificate be the determining factor of that youth’s gender when it comes to playing secondary sports such as basketball and track.

The bill further requires that if a birth certificate is not available, a student must obtain a physician’s note indicating the student’s sex based “solely on the pupil’s unaltered internal and external reproductive anatomy.”

The bill would not affect current co-ed secondary school athletic opportunities.

West Virginia is one of at least 35 states where state lawmakers have introduced similar legislation this year to place restrictions on transgender athletes.

HB 3293 passed 16-5 and could be up for passage in the full House sometime next week.