Terra Goodnight · January 8, 2024

Statehouse Preview for Jan. 8, 2024: House to hold veto override vote on anti-trans bill

House to hold veto override vote on anti-trans bill

The House is returning this week to vote whether to override the Governor’s veto of HB68, a bill that bans gender-affirming care and prohibits trans girls from participating in youth sports. The Governor vetoed the legislation based on input from families and experts, but the GOP-dominated legislature is determined to pursue its agenda, with encouragement from candidates for US Senate and the former President. 

In order to override the Governor’s veto, the legislature requires 3/5 of the members. In the House, where the override vote is set to take place, that means 59 votes. The legislation received 62 votes to pass last month, so four yes votes would have to flip or be absent for the veto to stand. The House vote, if it happens, is currently scheduled for Wednesday at 2pm. If overridden, the Senate must also act before the end of the two-year general assembly in December. 

The only other hearing we are watching this week is the possible introduction of a substitute version of HB183, the so-called “bathroom bill” that would currently require use of a bathroom that corresponds to the gender assigned at birth at educational facilities. Numerous witnesses testified on the impracticality of enforcement, among other issues with the proposal.

Lastly, House Republicans have introduced legislation (HB371) that would require any lawsuits related to November’s Issue 1 proposal to protect abortion rights to go through the legislature instead of the courts. 

A full run down of the bills and hearings we are watching this week follows.

New Legislation This Week

We will be keeping an eye on the following bills, introduced in the last few weeks at the Statehouse:

House Bill 371 (Dean, Gross) – Abortion – to enact the Issue 1 Implementation Act

Senate Bill 209 (Hicks-Hudson) – Firearms – to increase the penalty for failure to report a lost or stolen firearm.

You can always view the full list of the bills we are monitoring here.

Statehouse Meetings & Events

Wednesday:

9:00am – House Higher Education – 4th hearing (sponsor testimony & possible substitute bill) on HB183 (single-sex bathrooms). Statehouse Room 017 or watch online.

2:00pm – House Session – Agenda TBD – webcast