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A bill supporters say will protect transgender people from hiring and housing discrimination, but derided by opponents as an invitation for men to use women’s bathrooms, will again be held in committee for at least another month, a state senator said Thursday.
The bill, currently due for a committee report Friday, will instead undergo review until at least early June, Sen. Cynthia Creem (D-Newton) told the News Service after a Thursday Senate session.
Creem, who co-chairs the Judiciary Committee, which has had jurisdiction over the transgender bill since January 2009, said some of the committee’s 17 members still had questions about the bill even though it is widely supported in both branches of the Legislature, including by House Speaker Robert DeLeo.
“I think this is a crazy year, whatever the bill is. It’s not just that one,” Creem told the News Service. “I think a lot of good things have sort of taken a back seat.”
Creem said hot-button proposals on gambling and local aid often dominate the discussion, precluding consideration of other issues. Although she supports the transgender bill, Creem said she doesn’t see a reason to rush it if other members have questions.
“I think that they’re trying to work through whatever issues they have in their own minds and I’d like to see it come out in a positive way,” she said.
The bill has 104 sponsors, more than half of each branch, including Senate Minority Leader Richard Tisei, who is running for lieutenant governor. The bill would also include “gender identity” in state hate crime statutes.
Tisei’s running mate, presumptive Republican gubernatorial nominee Charles Baker, has joined opponents of the proposal that have labeled it the “bathroom bill” and promised he’d veto it if he becomes governor.
Dee Dee Edmondson, political director for the gay rights group MassEquality, said “several moving parts,” including Congress’s consideration of a federal non-discrimination bill, may be contributing to consideration of the Massachusetts bill. She said MassEquality is working to “allay fears” members may have in a contentious election year.
“If you’re a co-sponsor of this bill, your name is already out there whether you take a vote on it or not,” Edmondson said in a phone interview.
If the bill dies this session, she added, it could face steeper odds in a future session, depending on the outcome of the governor’s race. Besides Baker, Independent candidate Timothy Cahill said he’d veto the bill as well. Gov. Deval Patrick has said he supports the bill and dismissed arguments that it could endanger women by enabling men to share their bathrooms.
A bill supporters say will protect transgender people from hiring and housing discrimination, but derided by opponents as an invitation for men to use women’s bathrooms, will again be held in committee for at least another month, a state senator said Thursday.
The bill, currently due for a committee report Friday, will instead undergo review until at least early June, Sen. Cynthia Creem (D-Newton) told the News Service after a Thursday Senate session.
Creem, who co-chairs the Judiciary Committee, which has had jurisdiction over the transgender bill since January 2009, said some of the committee’s 17 members still had questions about the bill even though it is widely supported in both branches of the Legislature, including by House Speaker Robert DeLeo.
“I think this is a crazy year, whatever the bill is. It’s not just that one,” Creem told the News Service. “I think a lot of good things have sort of taken a back seat.”
Creem said hot-button proposals on gambling and local aid often dominate the discussion, precluding consideration of other issues. Although she supports the transgender bill, Creem said she doesn’t see a reason to rush it if other members have questions.
“I think that they’re trying to work through whatever issues they have in their own minds and I’d like to see it come out in a positive way,” she said.
The bill has 104 sponsors, more than half of each branch, including Senate Minority Leader Richard Tisei, who is running for lieutenant governor. The bill would also include “gender identity” in state hate crime statutes.
Tisei’s running mate, presumptive Republican gubernatorial nominee Charles Baker, has joined opponents of the proposal that have labeled it the “bathroom bill” and promised he’d veto it if he becomes governor.
Dee Dee Edmondson, political director for the gay rights group MassEquality, said “several moving parts,” including Congress’s consideration of a federal non-discrimination bill, may be contributing to consideration of the Massachusetts bill. She said MassEquality is working to “allay fears” members may have in a contentious election year.
“If you’re a co-sponsor of this bill, your name is already out there whether you take a vote on it or not,” Edmondson said in a phone interview.
If the bill dies this session, she added, it could face steeper odds in a future session, depending on the outcome of the governor’s race. Besides Baker, Independent candidate Timothy Cahill said he’d veto the bill as well. Gov. Deval Patrick has said he supports the bill and dismissed arguments that it could endanger women by enabling men to share their bathrooms.
Of the Judiciary Committee’s 17 members, just three are co-sponsors of the legislation: Sens. Creem and Thomas McGee, and Rep. Katherine Clark. Other members include Sens. Steven Baddour (D-Methuen), Gale Candaras (D-Wilbraham), Jack Hart (D-South Boston) and Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester), Rep. Eugene O’Flaherty (D- Chelsea), Creem’s co-chair, as well as Reps. Chris Speranzo (D-Pittsfield), James Fagan (D-Taunton), Colleen Garry (D-Dracut), Marie St. Fleur (D-Boston), John Fernandes (D-Milford), Danielle Gregoire (D-Marlborough), Lew Evangelidis (R-Holden) and Daniel Webster (R-Pembroke).
DeLeo said last week that he was taking members' temperature regarding the bill.
"I'm going to be talking to get a feel from the members on that, in terms of where we stand with it - do we want to bring it up, support, lack of support," DeLeo said.
"It has such a large amount of co-sponsors. On the other hand, I think that the members right now are so focused on the economy, that I'm not sure how much deviation from that they want to see for the remainder of this budget cycle."
