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Timeline › 2024

2024

57 entries from 2024.

December(4)

San Diego County sheriff's deputies ignored Bobby Ray Patton's pleas for help during Vista jail safety checks; he died hours later

Bobby Ray Patton, 46, died December 28, 2024, at the Vista Detention Facility in Vista, California, after two San Diego County sheriff's deputies conducted routine safety checks but failed to respond as he audibly pleaded for medical help. Body-worn camera footage showed Deputy 3 turning away and switching off his camera after Patton said "I can't breathe" and "please help me"; Deputy 1 passed his cell less than an hour later while Patton was audibly moaning and also did not intervene. Patton died at 8:45 a.m. after a third deputy finally summoned medical staff around 7:51 a.m., too late to save him.

Montana Senate President Jason Ellsworth steered no-bid state contract to close associate

In the final days of December 2024, Montana Senate President Jason Ellsworth (R-Hamilton) signed a $170,100 no-bid contract for legislative bill-tracking services with Agile Analytics, a company owned by his longtime friend and former business partner Bryce Eggleston, splitting the payment into two invoices to evade the state's competitive-bidding threshold. A Montana Legislative Auditor investigation concluded the arrangement "constitute[d] an abuse of his government position."

Congress enacted FY2025 NDAA provision barring TRICARE coverage of gender-affirming care for military dependents under 18

President Joe Biden signed H.R. 5009, the FY2025 National Defense Authorization Act, into law as Public Law 118-159 on December 23, 2024. Section 708, added by House Republican conferees, amends 10 U.S.C. 1079(a) to bar TRICARE from covering "medical interventions for the treatment of gender dysphoria that could result in sterilization" — including hormone therapy and puberty blockers — for TRICARE beneficiaries under 18.

Trump sued The Des Moines Register and pollster Ann Selzer under Iowa consumer-fraud law over an unfavorable pre-election poll

On December 16, 2024, President-elect Donald Trump sued The Des Moines Register, its parent company Gannett, and pollster J. Ann Selzer under the Iowa Consumer Fraud Act, alleging "brazen election interference" over a Selzer poll published days before the November 2024 election that showed Trump trailing Kamala Harris in Iowa; Trump ultimately carried the state by more than 13 points. Press-freedom advocates characterized the suit as a retaliatory action meant to punish and chill unfavorable political polling and news coverage. The case was subsequently litigated across federal and Iowa state court.

November(3)

Ohio Gov. DeWine signed SB 104, requiring K-12 and college facilities be designated by birth sex and barring transgender students

On November 26, 2024, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed Senate Bill 104, which enacted the "Protect All Students Act" requiring K-12 schools and higher-education institutions to designate multi-occupancy restrooms, locker rooms, and overnight accommodations for the exclusive use of one sex assigned at birth. The bathroom-ban language, originally a separate bill, was merged into SB 104 — nominally a bill about the College Credit Plus program — by House floor amendment. The law took effect February 25, 2025.

Indiana AG Rokita issued unauthorized civil investigative demands against Evansville manufacturer, Haitian refugee-support nonprofit

On November 9, 2024, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita's office announced it had issued a civil investigative demand (CID) to Berry Global Group (now Amcor) in Evansville seeking extensive records on the company's employment of migrants, followed roughly three weeks later by a substantially similar CID to the Haitian Center of Evansville, a nonprofit serving Haitian immigrants and refugees. Neither CID identified a specific suspect, victim, or incident of labor trafficking.

Hinds County DA Jody Owens accepted at least $115,000 in cash bribes and facilitated payments to Jackson officials

Between October 2023 and May 2024, Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens orchestrated a scheme in which he accepted at least $115,000 in cash from two undercover FBI agents posing as real estate developers seeking support for a Jackson hotel project, and facilitated more than $80,000 in bribes to city officials, including $50,000 to then-Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba's reelection campaign. Owens, Lumumba, and then-Councilman Aaron Banks were federally indicted and arraigned on November 7, 2024, and all three later pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy charges; Owens resigned as district attorney. Sentencing for all three is set for October 15, 2026.

October(3)

Texas AG Paxton sued El Paso physician Dr. Hector Granados over alleged violations of state's transgender-care ban

On October 29, 2024, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's office filed a lawsuit against El Paso pediatric endocrinologist Dr. Hector Granados in Kaufman County district court, accusing him of prescribing puberty blockers and hormone therapy to more than 20 minors in violation of Senate Bill 14, the state's ban on gender-affirming care for minors, and of falsifying medical records to conceal the treatments as care for precocious puberty. The suit sought more than $1 million in penalties and revocation of Granados's medical license, and followed a similar suit Paxton's office filed against Dr. May Lau two weeks earlier.

Pima County Sheriff Nanos placed election rival on administrative leave weeks before reelection race

On October 14, 2024, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos placed his Republican election opponent, Lt. Heather Lappin, on paid administrative leave weeks before a tight reelection race, citing an unrelated internal matter involving a subordinate's off-duty campaigning. A subsequent county administrative investigation found Nanos used his authority and department resources for political gain against Lappin, who lost the election to Nanos by 481 votes.

Elon Musk's America PAC paid Pennsylvania swing-state voters $47 apiece to sign and refer a political petition ahead of the 2024 election

Ahead of the November 2024 election, Elon Musk's America PAC began offering registered swing-state voters $47 — later raised to $100 — to sign, and to refer others to sign, a petition backing "free speech and the right to bear arms," with Musk promoting the payments as "easy money" on X. The petition targeted voters in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, and North Carolina. Two federal class-action lawsuits later filed in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania allege canvassers and voters were never paid as promised.

September(2)

Florida AHCA, AG officials diverted $10M Medicaid settlement to Hope Florida charity, routed to Uthmeier's PAC to fight 2024 marijuana measure

On September 27, 2024, Florida Agency for Health Care Administration Secretary Jason Weida and then-Chief Deputy Attorney General John Guard, authorized by then-Attorney General Ashley Moody, signed an amended $67 million Medicaid overbilling settlement with Centene Corp. that diverted $10 million owed to taxpayers to the Hope Florida Foundation instead of state coffers. Within 25 days the foundation had granted the money to two nonprofits that funneled $8.5 million into Attorney General James Uthmeier's Keep Florida Clean political committee, which sent $7 million to the Republican Party of Florida and $1.23 million to the Florida Freedom Fund — money spent that fall helping defeat a marijuana-legalization ballot measure. A sealed Florida statewide grand jury presentment, leaked to press in August 2026, found the diversion was "a sophisticated scheme to fund political activities" but recommended no criminal charges.

Bow, N.H. school district banned two parents from campus over anti-trans-athlete protest wristbands

On September 17, 2024, during a Bow High School girls' soccer game, Bow, New Hampshire school officials ordered parents Kyle Fellers and Anthony Foote to remove pink "XX" wristbands worn in silent protest of a transgender athlete's participation, paused the game, and called police to remove those who refused to comply; the district later banned both men from school property and games with no-trespass orders. Superintendent Marcy Kelley testified she viewed the "XX" symbol itself as "anti-trans" and "exclusionary." On August 26, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit reversed a district court ruling and found the district likely engaged in viewpoint discrimination, holding the protest was passive and non-disruptive and remanding the case.

August(3)

San Diego County sheriff's deputy Jeremiah Flores fractured a handcuffed detainee's spine, then falsified his report

On August 29, 2024, San Diego County Sheriff's Office Deputy Jeremiah Flores shoved a handcuffed, non-resisting pretrial detainee headfirst into the wall of a courthouse holding cell, fracturing the man's spine and causing a head injury that required surgery. Flores rendered no aid, left the injured man on the cell floor for more than two hours, and wrote in his incident report that no force had been used. He was later convicted of federal civil-rights and records-falsification charges and sentenced to 57 months in prison.

St. Johns County officials and operatives mailed counterfeit GOP voter guide to deceive Republican primary voters

On or about August 9, 2024, five people -- St. Johns County Commissioner Sarah Arnold, County Commissioner Christian Whitehurst, St. Augustine Beach Commissioner and then-Mayor Dylan Rumrell, political consultant Briana Jordan, and Jamie Lynn Johnson -- allegedly produced and mailed tens of thousands of counterfeit voter guides to St. Johns County Republican primary voters ahead of the August 20, 2024 primary. The guide copied the St. Johns County GOP's logo and branding and falsely presented itself as the party's official endorsement slate, but promoted a different set of candidates, including Whitehurst and Rumrell themselves, and omitted the funding-source disclaimer required under Florida law. In July 2026, Florida prosecutors filed conspiracy and unauthorized-voter-guide charges against all five, with an added evidence-tampering felony charge against Jordan.

Shelby County, Tenn. deputy misused plate-tracking database to track ex-wife 100+ times; charged with stalking, harassment

On August 8, 2024, the Shelby County Sheriff's Office relieved deputy Thadius Gordon, 38, of duty with pay and he was charged with stalking and harassment after an audit found his ex-wife's license plate had been searched roughly 20 times over a four-day span and more than 100 times in total through a law-enforcement plate-tracking database. Chief Deputy Anthony Buckner confirmed the database access and said the office was reviewing its policies; Gordon's attorney disputed the stalking characterization, saying Gordon's contact concerned her safety rather than surveillance.

July(8)

Penn State Health St. Joseph canceled a non-binary patient's scheduled mastectomy citing Catholic doctrine

On July 23, 2024, administrators at Penn State Health St. Joseph Medical Center in Reading, Pennsylvania contacted EJ Stiles, a 23-year-old non-binary patient, less than 24 hours before a scheduled double mastectomy to cancel the procedure, telling Stiles it was "not in alignment with directives of the Catholic Church." Penn State Health acquired St. Joseph Medical Center in 2015, converting it from a private Catholic facility into part of a public university hospital system, yet the network continued allowing the hospital to enforce Catholic healthcare directives that barred gender-affirming care. Stiles was forced to wait months before obtaining the same surgery at another Penn State Health facility.

New Hampshire enacted HB1205 barring transgender girls from girls' school sports in grades 5-12

On July 19, 2024, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu signed HB1205 (Chapter 228) into law, requiring interscholastic and club athletic teams for grades 5 through 12 to be designated male, female, or coed and barring students of "the male sex" from teams designated for females — a birth-certificate-based eligibility standard that, as written, excludes transgender girls from girls' teams regardless of their gender identity. Eligibility is set by the student's biological sex on a birth certificate issued at or near birth, with other proof required at the family's expense if unavailable. The law creates private rights of action against schools and athletic associations that fail to comply and took effect August 18, 2024.

New Hampshire enacted HB619 barring genital gender-reassignment surgery on minors

On July 19, 2024, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu signed HB619 (Chapter 213) into law, barring physicians from performing genital gender-reassignment surgery on anyone under 18 in the state and prohibiting referrals to out-of-state providers for the same procedures. The law classifies violations as unprofessional conduct subject to medical-board discipline and creates a private right of action allowing an affected minor or their parent to sue the treating physician, with carve-outs for reconstructive procedures, disorders of sex development, and male circumcision. It took effect January 1, 2025.

New Hampshire Gov. Sununu signed HB 1312, mandating LGBTQ+ curriculum notice and parental disclosure of students' gender identity

On July 19, 2024, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu signed HB 1312 into law, amending RSA 186:11 to require school districts to give parents at least two weeks' written notice, with an opt-out, before teaching any curriculum covering sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or gender expression. The law also bars districts from any policy that lets staff withhold from a parent information about a student's gender identity or health, effectively compelling disclosure regardless of the student's wishes. The Republican-controlled New Hampshire General Court had passed the measure in narrow, party-line votes earlier that year.

SFPD officer smashed driver's car window, pepper-sprayed him during 2024 stop based on license-plate error

On July 4, 2024, San Francisco police officers Vinesh Govindbhai and Jonathan Zepeda stopped driver Matthew Ludwig at a red light on O'Farrell Street after entering a Toyota's license plate number instead of his Honda Accord's and wrongly concluding his car was stolen; Govindbhai smashed Ludwig's window with a baton, the officers pulled him to the pavement, and pepper-sprayed him in the face at a distance violating department policy, then cited him for reckless driving and resisting arrest even after realizing their mistake. In March 2026, the San Francisco Department of Police Accountability sustained findings that the officers used unnecessary force and issued the citation without cause; the Public Defender's Office made the findings public on August 10, 2026, after Ludwig died in September 2025.

South Carolina enacted a budget proviso barring transgender K-12 students from restrooms matching their gender identity

South Carolina's FY2024-25 General Appropriations Act (H.5100, ratified as R-252) took effect on July 3, 2024, carrying Budget Proviso 1.120, which requires all K-12 public school districts to designate multi-occupancy restrooms, locker rooms, changing facilities, and overnight sleeping quarters for use by students of one biological sex only. The proviso withholds 25 percent of a district's state operating funds for a violation. Gov. Henry McMaster issued 21 line-item vetoes to the budget that day on unrelated appropriations, leaving Proviso 1.120 untouched and in force for the 2024-25 school year.

Florida Department of Education pressured science-textbook publishers to soften or remove climate-change content for 2024 state approval

During Florida's 2024 science-textbook review cycle, the Florida Department of Education directed three publishers -- Savvas Learning, McGraw Hill, and Cengage -- to soften or remove accurate climate-change content from science textbooks as a condition of state approval, including replacing a mortality statistic with vaguer language and cutting references to renewable energy and legislative climate action. A July 2, 2024 email from a McGraw Hill vice president to FDOE's instructional materials office documents the specific changes department officials requested. Textbooks touching climate content were adopted by the state at less than half the rate of other science subjects reviewed that cycle.

Biden administration began funding Panama's deportation of US-bound migrants

The Biden administration signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Panama on July 1, 2024, under which the U.S. State Department and DHS fund and help run Panama's own deportation flights for migrants transiting toward the United States through the Darién Gap. The Congressional Hispanic and Black Caucuses had urged the administration to halt the funding before it was finalized, warning Panama's asylum system lacked the capacity to screen people — particularly Venezuelans and Haitians fleeing persecution — before returning them to danger.

June(5)

Utah Gov. Cox signed HCR301, invoking the state Sovereignty Act to bar officers from enforcing federal Title IX transgender protections

On June 21, 2024, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed House Concurrent Resolution 301, which the Legislature had passed two days earlier during a special session. The resolution invoked the newly enacted Utah Constitutional Sovereignty Act to direct state officers, elected officials, and public and higher-education employees not to enforce the U.S. Department of Education's 2024 Title IX regulations extending protections to transgender and pregnant students where they conflict with Utah law. It was the first use of the Sovereignty Act mechanism.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed the 'Given Name Act' restricting school use of students' chosen names and pronouns

On June 19, 2024, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed House Bill 121, the "Given Name Act" (Act 680), into law, barring public school governing authorities from adopting policies that require staff or students to use a name or pronoun for a student that is inconsistent with the student's legal name or biological sex -- a standard that, as applied, bars staff from using a transgender student's chosen name or pronouns. The law, sponsored by Rep. Raymond Crews, bars discipline of any employee or student who declines to use a chosen name or pronoun and creates a private civil cause of action for violations. It took effect August 1, 2024.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed HB122, barring K-12 teachers from discussing sexual orientation or gender identity with students

On June 19, 2024, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed HB122, by Rep. Dodie Horton, into law as Act 681, prohibiting public K-12 teachers, employees, and other presenters from discussing sexual orientation or gender identity with students in any classroom instruction or extracurricular activity that deviates from state-approved content standards, and from discussing their own sexual orientation or gender identity with students at all. The bill passed the House 69-28 and the Senate 28-7 and took effect August 1, 2024. An identical measure had been vetoed by then-Gov. John Bel Edwards in 2023.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed the Women's Safety and Protection Act, mandating birth-sex facility designation in schools, prisons, and shelters

On June 3, 2024, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed HB608, the "Women's Safety and Protection Act," into law as Act 436, defining "sex" in state law strictly as biological sex "as observed or clinically verified at birth" and specifying that gender identity does not apply across all state law and agency rules. The act requires public schools, correctional and juvenile-detention facilities, and domestic-violence shelters to designate multi-occupancy restrooms, changing rooms, and sleeping quarters by biological sex, and creates a private cause of action against non-complying facilities. It passed the House 80-17 and the Senate 29-10 and took effect August 1, 2024.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed HB2310, imposing civil liability on adults who help minors obtain gender-affirming care

On June 3, 2024, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed HB2310/SB2782, enacted as Public Chapter 1064, creating a civil cause of action against any person who intentionally recruits, harbors, or transports an unemancipated minor within Tennessee for the purpose of obtaining gender-affirming care that the state already bans for minors. The law, effective July 1, 2024, lets a minor or the minor's parents sue such adults for damages, while exempting the minor's own parents or guardians and common transportation carriers. Reported as a first-in-the-nation measure, it extends Tennessee's 2023 ban on gender-affirming care for minors by penalizing third parties who help trans youth access that care.

May(8)

Oklahoma Gov. Stitt signed HB 1449, writing a binary biological-sex definition into state law and excluding gender identity from recognition

On May 31, 2024, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed House Bill 1449, the "Women's Bill of Rights," enacted by the Oklahoma Legislature. The law writes binary definitions of "sex," "male," and "female" into Oklahoma statute based strictly on reproductive biology at birth and excludes gender identity from legal recognition of sex, with the stated purpose of restricting sex-segregated spaces to a person's biological sex. It took effect November 1, 2024.

EEOC opened a pattern-or-practice discrimination investigation into Nike over its diversity programs

On May 24, 2024, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued a charge alleging Nike engaged in a pattern or practice of disparate treatment against white employees, applicants, and training-program participants, opening an investigation into the company's diversity programs. After Nike resisted the agency's document demands through 2025, the EEOC filed a subpoena-enforcement action in federal court in February 2026, which a judge followed with an order for Nike to show cause why the subpoena should not be enforced.

South Carolina Gov. McMaster signed H4624 banning gender-affirming care for minors and requiring schools to out trans students

On May 21, 2024, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster signed H4624, the Help Not Harm Act, into law, barring physicians from providing gender-affirming care such as puberty blockers, hormones, and surgery to anyone under 18. The law also prohibits public funds and the state Medicaid program from covering gender transition procedures at any age and requires public school staff to notify a minor's parents if the student discloses that their gender identity differs from their sex assigned at birth. It took effect immediately upon the governor's signature.

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves signed SB 2753 requiring birth-sex-based restrooms and housing in public schools and universities

On May 13, 2024, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves signed Senate Bill 2753, the "Securing Areas for Females Effectively and Responsibly Act" (SAFER Act), into law. The measure requires public schools, community colleges, and universities to designate restrooms, changing facilities, and student housing by sex "determined solely by a birth" and codifies statewide definitions of "male" and "female" fixed at birth, creating a private civil cause of action to enforce it. Sponsored by Sen. Josh Harkins and passed by the Mississippi Legislature, the law took effect immediately.

Iowa Gov. Reynolds signed SF2435 banning DEI offices at public universities

On May 9, 2024, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed SF2435, an education-appropriations act whose Division IX bars public universities governed by the state Board of Regents from establishing or staffing diversity, equity, and inclusion offices, requiring DEI statements, or spending any funds to support such offices. The law defines prohibited DEI to reach trainings and programming designed with reference to race, color, ethnicity, gender identity, or sexual orientation, and forbids institutions from taking official positions on contested concepts including "transgender ideology" and "gender theory." Enforcement runs through attorney-general mandamus actions, with the DEI provisions taking effect July 1, 2025.

Shenandoah County, Virginia school board voted to restore Confederate-general names to two public schools

On May 9, 2024, the Shenandoah County School Board in Virginia voted 5-1 to reverse a 2020 decision and restore Confederate-general names to two public schools, renaming Mountain View High School back to Stonewall Jackson High School and Honey Run Elementary back to Ashby Lee Elementary. The Virginia NAACP and the families of affected Black students sued, and a federal judge later found the renaming could not be divorced from racial discrimination and violated students' constitutional and civil rights.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed SB1810 requiring schools to report students' gender-identity requests to parents

On May 9, 2024, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed SB1810, enacted as Public Chapter 832, amending Title 49 of the Tennessee Code. The law requires a K-12 public school or charter school employee to report a student's request for an accommodation affirming the student's gender identity — such as a different name or pronouns — to a school administrator, who must then report it to the student's parent. It also bars employees from knowingly giving parents false or misleading information about a student's gender identity and creates a private right of action alongside attorney general enforcement against noncompliant schools.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed SB2766, removing sexual orientation and other named protected classes from the educator code of ethics

On May 1, 2024, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed SB2766 (Public Chapter 780), which amended the K-12 educator code of ethics. The prior statute barred educators from disadvantaging a student on an enumerated list of protected characteristics including sexual orientation, race, sex, and family, social, or cultural background; as enacted, the bill struck that list and substituted a general prohibition on discriminating against a student "on any basis."

April(6)

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed SB 2861, barring state funds for gender-affirming care for inmates

On April 29, 2024, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed SB 2861 (Public Chapter 821), prohibiting the state Department of Correction from using state funds to provide hormone replacement therapy or sex-reassignment surgery to inmates held in a state penitentiary, county jail, or workhouse. The General Assembly had passed the measure, with the Senate voting 24-3 on April 4 and the House 71-20 on April 11. The law took effect immediately upon signing.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed a law shielding foster and adoptive parents who refuse to affirm a child's LGBTQ identity

On April 17, 2024, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed SB1738, the "Tennessee Foster and Adoptive Parent Protection Act," codified as Public Chapter 677 and effective July 1, 2024. The law bars the Department of Children's Services from requiring foster or adoptive parents to affirm any government policy on sexual orientation or gender identity that conflicts with their religious or moral beliefs, and from denying eligibility or placement on that basis. It passed the Senate 25-6 and the House 73-20.

Idaho Gov. Little signed library-restriction law defining 'homosexuality' as harmful to minors

On April 10, 2024, Idaho Governor Brad Little signed H0710, the "Children's School and Library Protection Act," creating a private cause of action against public and school libraries that fail to relocate materials deemed "harmful to minors" to adults-only sections within 60 days of a complaint. The "harmful to minors" standard the law enforces is defined in Idaho Code to include "homosexuality" as sexual conduct. The law took effect July 1, 2024.

Idaho Gov. Little signed HB 421, defining sex and gender as binary biological categories across state code

Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed House Bill 421 on April 9, 2024, inserting binary biology-based definitions of "sex," "male," "female," and "gender" into Idaho Code section 73-114, the general statutory-terms section that applies by default across all state statutes unless a specific law defines otherwise. The law declares there are "two, and only two, sexes," fixes sex at conception or birth rather than self-identification, defines "gender" as a synonym for biological sex that explicitly excludes gender identity, and amends Idaho's birth-certificate, vulnerable-child, and school changing-facility statutes to point to the new definition. It passed the House 54-14 and the Senate 26-8 and took effect as Session Law Chapter 322 on July 1, 2024.

Idaho Gov. Little signed H0538 barring compelled use of preferred pronouns for government employees and students

On April 8, 2024, Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed House Bill 538 into law, enacting Idaho Code section 67-5909B after the Legislature passed it earlier that session. The law bars adverse action against government employees and public-school students who decline to use a name, title, or pronoun inconsistent with a person's biological sex, prohibits school and higher-education staff from addressing an unemancipated minor by an affirmed name or pronoun without written parental permission, and creates a private cause of action for violations. It took effect July 1, 2024, as Session Law Chapter 314.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed state Religious Freedom Restoration Act after Republican majority rejected anti-discrimination carve-out

On April 2, 2024, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed Senate File 2095, a state Religious Freedom Restoration Act, into law at a private event hosted by the conservative Christian group The Family Leader. The law, enacted as Iowa Acts Chapter 1003, sets a strict-scrutiny standard for government actions that burden religious exercise; Republican legislators had rejected a Democratic amendment (S-5018) that would have barred the law from overriding civil-rights, disability, and anti-discrimination protections. The bill passed the Senate 31-16 and the House 61-33 along party lines.

March(10)

Idaho Gov. Little signed H0668, barring public funds and Medicaid coverage for gender-transition care

On March 27, 2024, Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed House Bill 668 into law after the Legislature passed it, prohibiting the use of state, county, and local public funds for gender-transition procedures for minors and adults and barring Idaho Medicaid from covering such care. The law also bars publicly employed physicians from providing the care in the scope of employment and forbids use of state property to provide it. It took effect July 1, 2024, as Session Law Chapter 209.

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice signed HB4233, barring "non-binary" sex designation on birth certificates

On March 27, 2024, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice signed House Bill 4233 into law, amending the state's vital-statistics code to require that birth certificates list a child's sex as male or female and to prohibit the use of "non-binary" as a sex designation. The measure, passed by the West Virginia Legislature, was enacted as Chapter 217 of the 2024 Acts and took effect on May 29, 2024.

Idaho Gov. Little signed HB 578 shielding faith-based adoption and foster agencies that refuse service

On March 25, 2024, Idaho Governor Brad Little signed House Bill 578, enacting Idaho Code section 16-1648 to bar the state and its subdivisions from taking discriminatory action against adoption or foster-care agencies or individuals who decline to provide a service based on a sincerely held religious belief. The law, effective July 1, 2024, created a private right of action with damages and attorney's fees against the state. Committee testimony warned the shield could enable discrimination against prospective foster and adoptive parents based on sexual orientation.

Wyoming Gov. Gordon signed SF 99 banning gender-transition care for minors

On March 22, 2024, Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon signed Senate File 99, the "Children Gender Change Prohibition," barring physicians and health care providers from performing gender-transition procedures — including sterilizing surgeries, mastectomies, and puberty-blocking or cross-sex hormone prescriptions — on anyone under 18 to affirm a gender identity differing from sex assigned at birth. The same drugs and procedures remain permitted for minors treated for precocious puberty or intersex conditions, and a violation is grounds for suspension or revocation of a provider's license. The law took effect July 1, 2024.

Idaho Gov. Little signed law shielding counselors' belief-based service refusals from licensing discipline

On March 21, 2024, Idaho Governor Brad Little signed Senate Bill 1352, enacting Idaho Code section 54-3416, which lets licensed counselors and marriage-and-family therapists decline to provide counseling that supports goals, outcomes, or behaviors conflicting with their sincerely held religious, moral, or ethical principles. The law immunizes such refusals from civil suit, criminal prosecution, and professional-licensing-board discipline. It passed the Senate 23-11 and the House 59-10, became Session Law Chapter 152, and took effect July 1, 2024.

Utah Gov. Cox signed SB 219 adding a gender-identity screening test and sealing transgender-athlete eligibility proceedings

On March 21, 2024, Utah Governor Spencer Cox signed Senate Bill 219, "School Activity Eligibility Commission Modifications," amending the commission that determines whether transgender students may participate in sex-designated interscholastic athletics. The law adds a requirement that the commission consider whether a student's assertion of a gender identity is consistent with the statutory definition, and it removes individual eligibility proceedings from Utah's open-meetings law while expanding confidentiality to records held by schools. It also directs the Attorney General to defend, and the state to indemnify, persons enforcing the law.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed SB129, banning DEI offices and programs at public colleges and mandating sex-based restrooms

On March 20, 2024, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed SB129 into law, prohibiting public colleges, state agencies, and local school boards from maintaining diversity, equity, and inclusion offices or sponsoring DEI programs and barring the promotion of eight enumerated "divisive concepts," with discipline or termination authorized for violators. The act also requires every public higher-education institution to designate multiple-occupancy restrooms by "biological sex," displacing access based on gender identity. Passed by the Alabama Legislature and signed in Montgomery, the law took effect October 1, 2024.

Utah Gov. Cox signed HB316, requiring jail and prison housing by birth sex and restricting transgender inmate placement

On March 18, 2024, Utah Governor Spencer Cox signed House Bill 0316, "Inmate Assignment Amendments," which bars the Department of Corrections and county jails from housing inmates with others of the opposite biological sex at birth. Sponsored by Rep. Karianne Lisonbee and carried in the Senate by Sen. Heidi Balderree, the law lets a transgender inmate seek gender-matching placement only after a discretionary multi-factor security analysis required of no other inmate. The measure took effect May 1, 2024.

Utah Gov. Cox signed HB157 barring a parent's stance on a child's gender identity as a custody or removal factor

Utah Governor Spencer Cox signed House Bill 157, "Child Custody Factor Amendments," into law on March 14, 2024. The law amends Utah Code 30-3-10 to prohibit courts from considering a parent's agreement or disagreement with a minor child's asserted or expressed gender identity when awarding custody or parent-time, and amends Utah Code 80-2a-202 to bar peace officers and caseworkers from removing a child from parental custody solely on that basis. Chief sponsor Rep. Stephanie Gricius carried the bill, which passed the House 73-0 and the Senate 16-7 before the House concurred 63-0.

Wyoming enacted SEA 8, requiring parental opt-in before instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity

On March 6, 2024, Wyoming Senate Enrolled Act 8 (Senate File 9) took effect after Gov. Mark Gordon allowed it to become law without his signature. The law requires public schools to obtain written or electronic parental permission at least one day in advance before a student may participate in any class or training that addresses sexual orientation or gender identity — a restriction not applied to other subjects.

February(3)

Federal judge held journalist Catherine Herridge in civil contempt and imposed an $800-a-day fine for refusing to reveal a confidential source

On February 29, 2024, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper held former Fox News reporter Catherine Herridge in civil contempt and ordered an $800-a-day fine, escalating over time, for her refusal to identify the confidential source behind her 2017 reporting on an FBI investigation of scientist Yanping Chen. Cooper ruled that Chen's need for the information in her Privacy Act lawsuit against the federal government overcame Herridge's asserted First Amendment reporter's privilege. The fine was stayed pending appeal.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed HB0878 letting officials and officiants refuse to solemnize any marriage

On February 21, 2024, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed HB0878, enacted as Public Chapter 511, adding to Tennessee Code 36-3-301 that "a person shall not be required to solemnize a marriage." Because notaries, government officials, and religious officials are all authorized to solemnize marriages in Tennessee, the law creates a blanket right for any authorized officiant to decline to perform a marriage. The bill's sponsor said it would let officiants refuse marriages "contrary to their beliefs" as views change about "what constitutes a marriage."

York County PA jail failed to charge inmate's defibrillator vest and ignored chest-pain reports; he died within 48 hours of intake

Todd Sidesinger was booked into York County Prison in Pennsylvania on February 18, 2024 — three days after being discharged from a heart-failure hospitalization during which two cardiac stents were inserted. Staff noted at intake that his prescribed defibrillator vest needed charging but that no charger was available; the vest was never charged during his detention. On February 19, Sidesinger submitted a medical request reporting chest pain; an EKG showing Premature Ventricular Contractions was deemed "normal" and he was given acetaminophen. On February 20 he reported chest pain again and was sent back to his cell; he was found unconscious at approximately 5:25 a.m. and died after hospitalization. His sister filed a wrongful-death suit against PrimeCare Medical, the jail's for-profit medical contractor, York County, and the warden.

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Utah Gov. Cox signed HB257 mandating birth-sex facility use in schools, public buildings, and prisons

Utah Governor Spencer Cox signed House Bill 257, "Sex-based Designations for Privacy, Anti-bullying, and Women's Opportunities," into law on January 30, 2024. The act requires restrooms, showers, and locker rooms in public K-12 schools and government-owned or controlled buildings to be used according to sex assigned at birth, creates new and enhanced criminal penalties for using a facility inconsistent with that designation, and extends the birth-sex standard to government athletic programs and to correctional facilities. It is codified at Utah Code 63G-31-201 et seq.

Ohio legislature overrode DeWine's veto to enact HB68, banning trans youth gender-affirming care and trans athletes in girls' sports

On January 24, 2024, the Ohio Senate voted 24-8 to override Governor Mike DeWine's veto of House Bill 68, the "Saving Ohio Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act," completing an override the Ohio House began on January 10 and enacting the bill over the governor's objection. HB68 bans gender-affirming care such as puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and surgery for transgender minors and bars transgender women and girls from female K-12 and collegiate sports. The law was set to take effect roughly 90 days later, on April 24, 2024.