Text of HI HB 1304 (2022)

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES H.B. NO. 1304 THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2021 STATE OF HAWAII A BILL FOR AN ACT relating to HIGH SCHOOL athletics. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII: SECTION 1. The legislature finds that Title IX of the federal Education Amendments of 1972 was passed to ensure women have equal opportunity in sports and education. However, there is an ongoing debate about whether transgender women should be allowed to compete in women's sports. Although there is a lack of peer reviewed studies examining questions related to hormones and athletic performance, a 2019 study by the Karolinska Institute of Stockholm, titled "Muscle Strength, Size, and Composition Following 12 months of Gender-affirming Treatment in Transgender Individuals", concluded that following one year of testosterone suppression and cross-hormone therapy, transgender women had not seen a significant decrease in muscle mass. The purpose of this Act is to prohibit biologically born males from competing in any athletic program offered by a public high school that is designated for women or girls. SECTION 2. Section 302A-461, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows: "§302A-461 Gender equity in athletics. (a) No person, on the basis of sex, shall be excluded from participating in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination in athletics offered by a public high school, pursuant to Public Law 92-318, Title IX of the federal Education Amendments of 1972. (b) It shall be a violation of subsection (a) for a public high school offering athletics to permit a person whose biological sex at birth is male to compete in any athletic program of the public high school that is designated for women or girls. [(b)] (c) This section shall apply to public schools as defined in section 302A-101; provided that it shall apply to grades nine to twelve only. [(c)] (d) No private right of action at law shall arise under this section." SECTION 3. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored. SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval. INTRODUCED BY: _____________________________ Report Title: Youth Athletics; Public High Schools; Prohibition Description: Prohibits biologically born males from competing in any athletic program offered by a public high school that is designated for women or girls. The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.