Ways and Means committee rejects bill restricting transgender students from girls’ sports

The Ways and Means Committee voted on Feb. 6, 2025 to recommend an unfavorable report on House Bill 156, a measure that would require public and nonpublic high school teams to be designated by “biologic” sex and would prohibit students listed as male under the bill’s definitions from participating in girls’ sports.

The committee’s unfavorable motion, moved by Delegate Ebersole, passed on a roll-call vote after extended debate. The motion received 12 recorded yes votes and 5 recorded no votes; several members were excused or their votes were not recorded on the transcript. The chair voted yes, and committee staff announced that the unfavorable recommendation means House Bill 156 fails in the committee.

Supporters of the unfavorable recommendation argued there was little reliable evidence that transgender women have a competitive advantage in sports and raised concerns about the bill’s effect on transgender students. “There’s been exactly two major studies done on this specific issue,” Delegate Fair said, citing a 2021 report by the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport and a 2024 study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. “Those studies show … transgender women have no biomedical advantage in elite sports,” Fair said, adding the 2024 study suggested a biomedical disadvantage for transgender women related to hormone therapies.

Opponents of the unfavorable recommendation said they supported protecting opportunities for girls and young women and cited examples they said suggest physical advantages can vary by individual. “We do believe that young women should have opportunities to fairly participate in sporting activities and receive scholarships and awards … on the most level playing field possible,” Delegate Buckle said, adding that he and other Republican members planned to vote against the unfavorable motion. Delegate Miller said a recent executive order concerning Title IX informed his view that the issue reflects fairness for girls.

The transcript shows members spoke both to fairness for cisgender girls and to protections and equal treatment for transgender girls; several members urged respectful recognition of transgender people’s humanity and rights. After discussion, the committee took a roll-call vote on the unfavorable motion. The committee clerk read recorded votes; the unfavorable recommendation carried and the bill failed the committee.

The transcript does not record any amendments to House Bill 156 during the session, nor does it show any direction to staff for follow-up work on the subject.

The committee’s action ends the bill’s progress through Ways and Means unless the sponsor pursues alternate procedural options outside of this vote.