BY MATT URBAS

HB68, a bill combining the Saving Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act and the Save Women’s Sports Act, was passed in the Senate today, then sent back to the House which concurred with the changes made by the Senate.  Having passed both houses, the bill now heads to Governor DeWine’s desk to be either signed into law or vetoed.

The “SAFE” Act portion of the bill was sponsored by Representative Gary Click (R-Vickery) and ends the practice of gender reassignment surgery and cross-sex hormone interventions and puberty blockers for minors.   It also prohibits judges from denying or limiting a parent’s rights and responsibilities or parenting time based on that parent’s decision to refer to and raise their child in a manner consistent with the child’s biological sex. The Senate changes enabled physicians currently administering cross-sex hormones or puberty blockers to specific minors to continue, if they determine and document that termination of the prescription would be harmful to the minor.  Physicians who violate the law would be subject to discipline by the State Medical Board for unprofessional conduct.

The Save Women’s Sports Act was sponsored by Representative Jena Powell (R-Arcanum) and requires schools participating in interscholastic or intercollegiate athletics to designate teams based on the sex of the participants. Schools, interscholastic conferences and organizations are prohibited from knowingly permitting males to participate on teams or in athletic competitions designated for female participants. The bill authorizes civil action (lawsuit) for any athletic participant that is harmed directly or indirectly as a result of a violation of one of the above requirements, or if they suffer adverse or retaliatory action as a result of reporting such a violation.  Schools or universities are also protected from adverse actions for complying with the single-sex requirements.

The bill heads to Governor Mike DeWine’s desk for signature.  DeWine had earlier indicated that he would veto the bills, but more recently has hedged, reportedly saying that he would review the version passed by the Legislature before making a decision.  If signed into law, Ohio would be the 23rd state in the nation to limit gender reassignment treatment on minors and the 24th to restrict males from competing against females in interscholastic sports.

The Senate passed the bill 24-8, with Senator Nathan Manning (R-North Ridgeville) the only “No” vote among the Republicans present.  The House vote was 61-27.  Both margins are above the 3/5ths majority required to override a veto by the Governor. Representatives Brett Hudson Hillyer (R-Uhrichsville) and Jamie Callender (R-Concord), who were the only two Republicans to vote no on the original House version of the bill, were not present.