April 2021 — Timeline — Standing Record

Apr 30

Montana Gov. Gianforte signed SB 280, requiring surgery and a court order to amend a birth certificate's sex marker

On April 30, 2021, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte signed Senate Bill 280, sponsored by Sen. Carl Glimm, reversing a 2017 Department of Public Health and Human Services rule that had let transgender Montanans update the sex designation on their birth certificate to match their gender identity. SB 280 instead required DPHHS to receive a court order confirming the person underwent gender-affirmation surgery before it would amend the sex marker, and took effect immediately upon signing.

Apr 28

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice signed HB3293, banning transgender girls and women from school sports teams

On April 28, 2021, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice signed House Bill 3293 into law, barring transgender girls and women from competing on public school and collegiate sports teams designated for female athletes, based on "biological sex" determined at birth. West Virginia was among a wave of Republican-led states enacting similar sports restrictions that year, following South Dakota, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Tennessee.

Discriminatory policy

Apr 27

Arkansas Gov. Hutchinson signed SB450, adding AG enforcement to the state's transgender sports ban

On April 27, 2021, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed SB450, the "Gender Integrity Reinforcement Legislation for Sports (GIRLS) Act," into law as Act 953 of 2021, roughly a month after signing the state's first sex-based sports-eligibility law, SB354. The law requires K-12 and postsecondary athletic teams sponsored by state-funded entities to be designated by sex based on anatomy and genetics at birth, bars students of "the male sex" from female-designated teams, and creates a civil cause of action letting the Attorney General sue non-complying schools for injunctive relief plus a one-year bar on receiving public funds.

Discriminatory policy

Apr 23

Alabama Gov. Ivey signed HB391, barring transgender youth from K-12 school sports

On April 23, 2021, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed HB391 into law, prohibiting public K-12 schools from participating in, sponsoring, or providing coaching staff for interscholastic athletic events in which transgender athletes compete on teams matching their gender identity. The Alabama House passed the bill 73-19-2 on March 18, 2021, and the Senate concurred on April 20, 2021, before Ivey's signature.

Apr 6

Arkansas legislature overrode veto to enact HB1570/Act 626, banning gender-affirming care for minors

On April 6, 2021, the Arkansas House (72-25) and Senate (25-8) voted to override Governor Asa Hutchinson's veto and enact HB1570 as Act 626, the "Arkansas Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act." The law bars physicians from providing gender-transition medical care to anyone under 18 and bars public or private insurance from covering such care for minors, making Arkansas the first state to enact this kind of ban.