February 2-11
TL/DR: The 2-Minute Read
Actions to Take Right Now
NOTE: Since the publishing of this legislative update, HB 2033 was voted out of the House on the morning of Thursday, February 12. We do not need you to contact your state representatives any longer, but we will keep you updated with new actions as this bill moves over into the Senate chamber now.
- Call & Email Your State Representative: As the House moves to have a final vote on HB 2033 to make the ban on healthcare for trans young people permanent, we need you to reach out to your representative and tell them to vote NO on HB 2033. It is critical because there are many new freshmen lawmakers who have never voted on this topic before and they need to hear your voice about why this matters to you.
- Send A Digital Valentine to Testifiers or LGBTQ+ Loved Ones: After a tough two weeks with hearings attacking trans young people and adults, we encourage you to send some love to an LGBTQ+ person. A donation of any size allows you to send a digital Valentine letting them know that they are seen, they are loved, and they are valued.
- Thanks Senators Who Stood Up: The Senate Education Committee was brutal earlier this week and our champion senators felt that full force as they stood up for trans youth and their families. You can call Sen. Maggie Nurrenbern at (573) 751-5282 and Sen. Stephen Webber at (573) 751-3931.
Important Updates to Know
- The House debated and advanced HB 2033, a bill that would remove the sunset provision on Missouri’s ban on healthcare for young people. A final vote is expected soon, meaning it would next go to the Senate.
- The Senate Education Committee heard SB 1085, a bill that would ban trans young people from socially transitioning in school settings and threaten teachers with termination if they affirmed students.
- New debate rules were adopted in the Senate, particularly around a PQ (“previous question”) because of how Republicans acted in the Senate last year. The new rules increased the signatures required to call the previous question and requires that Senate bills with House amendments and conference committee reports “lie on the table” for a full legislative day before being taken up for final passage.
- Two of PROMO’s priority bills were filed in the Senate, including the Missouri Nondiscrimination Act (SB 1633) by Sen. Webber and SB 1570 by Sen. Lewis, a bill that would allow Missourians to self-attest in order to change their gender marker on government-issued documents.
A Deeper Dive of This Week
This week was intense for our staff and community. Both chambers of the Missouri Legislature debated the existence, the dignity, and the needs of trans young people. However, our community — families, educators, medical providers — all showed up to speak the only thing louder than fear. Truth.
As lawmakers in that building continue to try and erase trans people from law, we’ll continue amplifying their stories and lived experiences. As they continue to legislate fear, we’ll continue to mobilize love and relentless truth. Our lived experiences and truth are greater than their fairy tales.
The House Debates Trans Youth
In just the second week of February, the House debated HB 2033 (Rep. Schmidt). This bill seeks to remove the expiration date that would make healthcare for trans young people permanently banned in Missouri. Rep. Schmidt stated she simply wants “Missouri children who are working through gender dysphoria continue to have a safe and effective course of treatment.”
We couldn’t agree more, which is precisely why the sunset must remain. It is critical that trans young people have access to the necessary medical care they need that medical associations across the country have deemed safe and effective.
Debate devolved into misinformation and lies about who trans people are and the care they need. Republican lawmakers continue to subvert and amend the language, research, court cases, and testimony of trans advocates, healthcare professionals, families, and renowned research organizations. Democrat champions, however, stood firm:
Rep. Mark Boyko (D-90) standing up for parents and their right to help their child receive care: “Today we’re here debating a set of bills bullying Missouraians by blocking parents from exercising their parental rights to help their children receive reversible medical care… and yet Republicans run roughshod over parental rights and human decency to pick on innocent children, caring parents, and knowledgeable doctors. You can’t claim to be pro-parental rights and deny parents the right to medical care for their children.”
Rep. Keri Ingle (D-35) lifting up that Speaker John Patterson, as a licensed general surgeon, knows better than to ban safe and effective healthcare: “I want to go back because a lot of you weren’t in the building in 2023 when this passed. And there was lots of talk on the floor from non-medical professionals, both then and now. Yet there was one medical doctor here at the time who voted no on this bill because he believed that it wasn’t in the best interest to stop this medical care. That was the Speaker [Patterson].”
Rep. Lilly Fuchs (D-80) reminding the legislature they wanted more information about who trans people were and we’ve brought in so many people to tell them: “It was last week that we were hearing a bill about tax credits. And I was listening to all of you tell me about what the farmers need, because I’m not a farmer. My constituents aren’t farmers. So I depend on all of you to help me make informed decisions about what is best for the farmers. Sunsets are benchmarks for evaluation, put in place so that we as a legislative body can pause to evaluate. You asked for more information about gender affirming care, and we brought all these people in for you to listen to. We’ve asked trans Missourians for close to a decade to tell us who they are, to tell us what they need. They have told us, again and again. It’s time you listen to them.”
Rep. Fuchs (D-80) and Rep. Wick Thomas (D-19) both had messages to the community:
“To my beloved community, to trans kids, I see you. I believe you. And we won’t stop fighting for your right to exist and have what you need to be happy and healthy in this state.” — Rep. Fuchs
“Horrible things are being said about you and your family’s decisions, your futures, your mental health, and of all these horrible things just know I was one of you… there was never anything wrong with me and there is not anything wrong with any of you. You are beautiful and perfect.” — Rep. Thomas
Debate ended on Tuesday with a verbal vote of majority “aye” to perfect and print HB 2033. We anticipate this bill to return to the House floor tomorrow for a vote known as the third reading and final passage. It’s why it is imperative to call your representative and ask them to vote NO on HB 2033.
Senate Education Committee Erases Trans Students
On Tuesday, the Senate Education Committee heard SB 1085. This bill has multiple consequences including:
- making it legal to treat students like they don’t exist
- forcing teachers to out students whether the parents are affirming or not
- threatening teachers who do affirm a student with termination and opens schools up to lawsuits
- taking away parental rights from parents who affirm their children while increasing politicians’ involvement in schools
In short, this bill undermines the critical role teachers have in the lives of their students by making it impossible for young people to build trusting and safe relationships with them.
The hearing was extremely hostile. Senators Stephen Webber and Maggie Nurrenbern were bullied by their colleagues. We’re appreciative of both senators for showing up with their full hearts and making space to share on behalf of their constituents as they listened to teachers and community members’ stories. We’re asking you to take a moment to call both senators and thank them for standing up for our teachers, our schools, our parents, and our trans youth. You can call Sen. Nurrenbern at (573) 751-5282 and Sen. Webber at (573) 751-3931.
Some Positive News
Since the start of session, Senate Democrats have kept their promise to hold up the Senate functioning after their colleagues ended session early last year to advance conservative priorities. They spent two weeks filibustering to block dozens of gubernatorial appointments. Sen. Webber played a significant role in cutting a deal with Republicans that ended the filibuster by making changes to the Senate debate rules.
The new rules state that a senator needs 18 signatures from colleagues to bring up a vote to prematurely end debate on a bill (known as “calling the previous question” or a PQ). This was a change from the previous threshold of 10 signatures. The new rules put 18 Senators on record of disrespecting the minority party to cut off their debate. The other change included a provision that Senate bills with House amendments and conference committee reports must “lie on the table” for a full legislative day before being taken up for final passage. This change will likely impact the final week of session when there are not enough days left to get bills passed.
The Senate resumed debates and bagn advancing bills including the introduction of two of PROMO’s priority bills. Sen. Webber introduced the Missouri Nondiscrimination Act (SB 1633), a bill he has filed since 2015 alongside Sen. Tracy McCreery when they were both in the House. Sen. Patty Lewis introduced SB 1570, which would allow Missourians to self-attest in order to change their gender marker on government-issued documents. This process is similar to Illinois’ rules.
