March 13, 2023

CONTACT
Cherilyn DeVries, cherilyn@mhrn.org

Montana Senate Committee Advances Bill Legislating Transgender,

Nonbinary, and Intersex Montanans Out of Existence
Bill SB 458, among the most extreme in the entire country, advances on the back of
misleading fiscal note and disastrous hearing

Helena – After a chaotic and confusing hearing in the Senate Finance and Claims Committee, where state
agencies directly contradicted assertions made by the Office of Budget and Planning (OBPP) in their fiscal
note, committee members today passed SB 458 out of committee with a vote of 11-8.

Senate Bill 458 is the most aggressive and disturbing anti-LGBTQ bill at play in Montana – and likely in the
entire country. As Montana medical experts explained in testimony, this bill incorrectly defines sex as
exclusively male and female on the basis of a person’s reproductive capacity. The definition of sex in this bill
is based on an unscientific and archaic understanding of basic biology. Not only is this a gross and malicious
attempt to legislate transgender, nonbinary, and intersex people out of existence, but this bill will also have
devastating effects on our economy, the Department of Justice, and the Montana University System (MUS).

Discussion before executive action in the Senate Finance and Claims Committee revealed the Governor’s
office withheld relevant technical information on the fiscal note from the Department of Justice. Emails given
to senators on the committee show that the OBPP did not include technical notes from the Montana
University System showing a significant and detrimental impact to the state’s colleges and universities. When
directly asked about this information, OBPP misrepresented the MUS response. The intentional exclusion of
relevant information demonstrates the harmful attacks on the LGBTQ community are calculated,
coordinated, and go all the way up to the governor’s office.

“In a year where anti-LGBTQ bills are sweeping the country at unprecedented rates, SB 458 stands out as the
most egregious of all of them,” said MHRN Director of Equality, Shawn Reagor. “SB 458 is the only bill of this
magnitude to receive traction in any state. We are committed to fighting this bill to its necessary and
inevitable demise, whether it be in the legislature or the courts, and we call on all Montanans to join us in our
opposition.”
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