Committee advances bill to protect female-only sports by carving out MHRA exemption for athletics

The House Judiciary and Civil Law Committee voted 7-6 on March 6 to recommend passage of House File 12-33 (HF 12-33), sending the bill to the general register after adopting an A1 amendment earlier in the hearing.

HF 12-33 would carve out an exemption for women’s athletics from the Minnesota Human Rights Act (MHRA), explicitly allowing athletic organizations to set female-only teams based on biological sex, supporters said. Backers told the committee the change is meant to align state practice with Title IX and to preserve opportunities and safety for female athletes.

The bill’s supporters said Minnesota faces conflicting interpretations of state and federal law and that the committee should provide a statutory “safe harbor” enabling schools and private sports organizations to adopt women’s categories without risking enforcement actions under the MHRA. “At a bare minimum, this committee should ensure that no female athletic team or league will be subjected to unjustly lawsuits, penalties, investigations, or fines under Minnesota law simply for…