- A Utah House committee approved HB404, limiting transgender students' off-campus housing options, on Friday.
- Rep. Dave Shallenberger, R-Orem, argued the bill aligns with federal law despite discrimination concerns.
- The bill, advancing to the full House, faces opposition, citing Fair Housing Act conflicts.
SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah House committee has given the green light to limit where transgender students can live in private, off-campus housing.
HB404, sponsored by Rep. Dave Shallenberger, R-Orem, would allow private landlords to restrict who can live in all-male or all-female housing — where residents share a bedroom or bathroom — based on their sex at birth.
This comes after a similar move by the Legislature last year in on-campus housing. Gov. Spencer Cox signed a bill into law limiting where transgender students can live in dorm rooms at public universities, following backlash against a transgender resident assistant at Utah State University.
Shallenberger's bill this session would go further.
"We're just trying to very narrowly expand that to off-campus housing for all-female dorms or all-male dorms, and then just let people live where they're trying to live within the confines of the law," he told KSL.
During a hearing Friday afternoon, the House Business and Labor Committee heard from members of the transgender community and their supporters who oppose the bill.
"This is the fifth year in a row that the Legislature has really focused its gaze on the transgender community," said Marina Lowe, Equality Utah policy director, urging lawmakers to focus on other issues.
Zoe Newmann, who works at the Utah Housing Coalition, said the bill would conflict with the federal Fair Housing Act, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in housing.
"Passing a law that contradicts federal protections puts tenants at risk of harm and confusion and exposes landlords to serious legal liability," Newmann said. "At a time when Utah faces a housing crisis, we should be expanding access to safe and stable housing, not creating confusion and new barriers for already vulnerable communities."
Another commenter, April Gardner, added, "What spaces are we allowing left for our trans Utahns?"
Shallenberger said transgender students would still be able to live in mixed-gender housing situations. He also disagreed that his bill would conflict with federal law.
"If it is, then we cross that bridge when we get there," Shallenberger said. "But I don't think so. We dealt with these constitutional issues last year, and I think we're trying to narrowly thread that needle so that there's no violation of federal law or state law."
He added, "I know this is a sensitive issue out there, so we're trying to look for both sides of this and be sensitive to both sides."
Rep. Jordan Teuscher, R-South Jordan, pointed out during the hearing that the bill does not prohibit off-campus landlords from renting to transgender individuals if they want to.
"This has been very narrowly tailored to apply to just a small group of housing that is already gender segregated," Teuscher said.
Ultimately, the House committee voted 10-3 to advance the bill. One Republican, Rep. Norm Thurston, R-Provo, joined Democrats in opposing it. HB404 now moves to the full House of Representatives for a vote.
