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March 21, 2025

2 entries on this date.

South Dakota Gov. Rhoden signed HB1259 restricting multi-occupancy bathrooms and changing rooms to sex assigned at birth

On March 21, 2025, South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden signed House Bill 1259, requiring people to use multi-occupancy restrooms, changing rooms, and locker rooms in public facilities — including public schools, courthouses, and libraries — that correspond to their sex assigned at birth rather than their gender identity. The measure, sponsored by Rep. Brandei Schaefbauer, passed the House 58-9 and the Senate 27-6. It functionally bars transgender people from using covered public facilities consistent with their gender identity.

TDCJ staff falsified Stiles Unit prison heat logs during federal lawsuit; investigation found leadership likely knew or consented

An internal investigation by the Texas Board of Criminal Justice, made public on March 21, 2025, found that Texas Department of Criminal Justice staff at the Mark W. Stiles Unit in Beaumont falsified temperature logs during summer 2022, in the middle of federal litigation over unconstitutional prison heat conditions. The investigation concluded the Stiles Unit warden and other unit leadership "likely knew about or even consented to the falsification," corroborating a federal judge's own August 2022 characterization of one log as "a fabricated document." TDCJ's attorneys acknowledged the logs were inaccurate but denied any intent to mislead the court.