A compromise transgender protections bill could emerge from a conference committee and land on Gov. Charlie Baker’s desk this week, Senate President Stanley Rosenberg said Tuesday.
The six lawmakers who are negotiating House and Senate versions of the bill banning discrimination against transgender people in public accommodations met for the first time last Wednesday. Rosenberg said a deal is “just about ready to pop.”
“According to the Senate chair of the conference committee, they’re very close to an agreement, and that could mean a report both to the House and the Senate this week and then onto the governor’s desk,” Rosenberg said during an interview on Northampton’s WHMP radio.
Chaired by Sen. William Brownsberger and Rep. John Fernandes, the committee also includes Sens. Sonia Chang-Diaz and Bruce Tarr and Reps. Sarah Peake and Sheila Harrington.
The bills (S 735, H 4343) have different effective dates, with the Senate bill taking effect immediately after it is signed into law and the House allowing until January 2017. The House bill also calls on the attorney general to determine how to enforce laws against anyone “who asserts gender identity for an improper purpose.”
Rosenberg said the bill will count as one of the major legislative accomplishments this session if Baker signs it into law. Baker has previously said he would sign the House version of the bill.
Video courtesy of State House News Service 
