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2017

7 entries from 2017.

July(1)

Missouri Gov. Greitens signed law subjecting abortion clinics alone to annual unannounced inspections that other surgical centers escape

On July 26, 2017, Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens signed SB 5 into law, reclassifying the state's abortion facilities into a separate regulatory category and mandating annual, unannounced state inspections -- a schedule the roughly 120 other ambulatory surgical centers in Missouri do not face, which are instead inspected every three to four years. The law, sponsored by state Sen. Andrew Koenig, passed the Missouri General Assembly 22-9 in a summer special session and also gave the state attorney general authority to override local prosecutors on abortion cases.

June(1)

Texas Gov. Abbott signed HB 3859, shielding faith-based child welfare providers that refuse LGBTQ placements

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed HB 3859 on June 15, 2017, creating Human Resources Code Chapter 45 to bar the state and government-contracted child-placement entities from penalizing a child welfare services provider that declines, on religious grounds, to provide or facilitate services including placements, contraception/abortion referrals, or contracts inconsistent with its beliefs. The law exempts race, ethnicity, and national origin from the refusal but includes no equivalent carve-out for sexual orientation or gender identity, letting state-funded, state-licensed faith-based foster and adoption agencies decline to place children with same-sex couples, LGBTQ individuals, or people of other faiths.

May(2)

Texas Gov. Abbott signed HB100, defining "sex" in ride-hailing nondiscrimination law to exclude gender identity

On May 29, 2017, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed HB100, a statewide ride-hailing regulatory framework that preempted local ordinances. During House debate, Rep. Tony Tinderholt amended the bill's new driver nondiscrimination policy to define "sex" as "the physical condition of being male or female," language contemporaneous reporting tied to the same session's transgender restroom-access fight; a Senate committee substitute briefly stripped the amendment before the committee reinstated the House version and the bill was signed into law.

Alabama Gov. Ivey signed HB24, shielding religious-exemption adoption and foster agencies

On May 3, 2017, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed House Bill 24, the "Child Placing Agency Inclusion Act" (Act No. 2017-213), barring the state from withholding a license, contract, or funding from a private, state-licensed child-placing agency that declines -- on religious grounds -- to provide a placement or other service conflicting with its written religious beliefs. The protection applies only to agencies that do not accept state or federal funds. Advocacy groups including the Human Rights Campaign and ACLU of Alabama said the law's practical effect is to let faith-based agencies turn away qualified prospective parents, including same-sex couples.

April(1)

Alabama Gov. Ivey signed HB95 letting providers refuse abortion, sterilization, cloning, and stem-cell services on conscience grounds

On April 27, 2017, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed HB95, the "Health Care Rights of Conscience Act" (Act 2017-189), sponsored by Rep. Arnold Mooney. The law lets any health care provider refuse to participate in a "health care service" — narrowly defined by the statute as abortion, sterilization, human cloning, or embryonic stem-cell research — by filing a written conscience objection in advance, with an exception only when no alternate provider is available and a patient's life is in immediate danger.

March(2)

North Carolina Gov. Cooper signed HB142, repealing HB2 but preempting local LGBTQ nondiscrimination ordinances

On March 30, 2017, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper signed House Bill 142 (Session Law 2017-4), repealing the state's 2016 "bathroom bill" while replacing it with a permanent state claim over multi-occupancy restroom access and a moratorium on local nondiscrimination ordinances through December 1, 2020. LGBTQ advocacy groups and legal observers said the measure fell short of a true repeal, since it continued to bar cities such as Charlotte from adopting protections covering sexual orientation and gender identity.

South Dakota Gov. Daugaard signed SB 149, shielding taxpayer-funded child-placement agencies that refuse LGBTQ+ parents

On March 10, 2017, South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard signed Senate Bill 149 into law, making South Dakota the first state to enact anti-LGBTQ legislation in 2017. The law bars the state from taking adverse action -- revoking licenses, contracts, tax-exempt status, or state-benefit-program participation -- against taxpayer-funded, religiously affiliated child-placement agencies that decline, on religious or moral grounds, to place children with LGBTQ+ or other prospective parents. The South Dakota Legislature passed the bill 43-20 in the House and 27-8 in the Senate before it reached Daugaard's desk.