Arkansas Gov. Sanders signed SB270 (Act 619) criminalizing transgender adults' restroom use under the child sexual-indecency statute

On April 11, 2023, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed Senate Bill 270 into law as Act 619 of the 2023 regular session. The act amends Arkansas Code 5-14-110, the criminal offense of "sexual indecency with a child," to add a new subdivision making it a Class C misdemeanor for a person eighteen or older who, for the purpose of arousing or gratifying sexual desire, enters or remains in a public changing facility "assigned to persons of the opposite sex" while knowing a minor of the opposite sex is present. A third or subsequent offense is elevated to a Class D felony.

The law defines "sex" as the immutable biological sex determined by anatomy and genetics at birth, expressly excluding gender identity, and defines "public changing facility" broadly to include restrooms, bathrooms, locker rooms, and shower rooms. Because the restriction keys facility access to biological sex at birth rather than to any predatory act, it functionally criminalizes transgender adults' use of restrooms and other covered facilities matching their gender identity whenever a minor of the opposite sex is present, regardless of conduct.

SB270 was sponsored by Sen. John Payton (R-Wilburn) and passed by the 94th General Assembly during the 2023 regular session. Arkansas Advocate reported that the measure criminalizes entering and remaining in bathrooms and locker rooms that do not match a person's sex assigned at birth when children are present, and that opponents, including the ACLU of Arkansas, described it as among the most extreme bathroom-restriction bills in the country. The bill is distinct from Arkansas Act 317 (HB1156, 2023-03-21), which addressed school restrooms.