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SF0144 • 2023

Chloe's law-children gender change prohibition.

AN ACT relating to public health and safety; prohibiting physicians from performing procedures for children related to gender transitioning and gender reassignment; providing an exception; providing that gender transitioning and reassignment procedures are grounds for suspension or revocation of a physician's or health care provider's license; prohibiting insurance coverage for children for gender transitioning and reassignment procedures; providing definitions; specifying applicability; requiring rulemaking; and providing for effective dates.

Children Healthcare Parental Rights
Did Not Pass

The latest official action shows that this bill did not move forward in that session.

Sponsor
Senator Bouchard
Last action
2023-02-27
Official status
inactive
Effective date
3/1/2023

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide a plain language title or summary.

Chloe's Law: Children Gender Change Prohibition

This act prohibits physicians and healthcare providers from performing gender transition procedures on children under 18, with exceptions for certain medical conditions, and requires insurance policies not to cover such procedures starting July 1, 2023.

What This Bill Does

  • Prohibits physicians and health care providers from performing certain medical procedures related to gender transitioning or reassignment on minors under 18 years old.
  • Allows exceptions for procedures performed with parental consent if the child has a medically verifiable genetic disorder of sex development or central precocious puberty.
  • Requires health insurance policies not to cover any gender transition or reassignment procedures prohibited by this law starting July 1, 2023.
  • Adds violating this act as grounds for disciplinary action against physicians and healthcare providers, including license suspension or revocation.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Children under 18 years old
  • Physicians and health care providers who work with minors
  • Insurance companies providing coverage for children

Terms To Know

Gender transitioning or reassignment procedures
Medical treatments that change a person's physical appearance to match their gender identity.
Central precocious puberty
A condition where children start puberty earlier than normal, before the age of 8 for girls and 9 for boys.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill did not pass in its session.
  • It does not specify what happens to existing insurance policies that cover gender transition procedures before July 1, 2023.
  • Details about the disciplinary actions against healthcare providers are left to future rulemaking.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

SF0144HS001

Standing Committee • House Appropriations Committee

Filed

Plain English: The amendment removes specific prohibitions on physicians performing gender-related procedures for children and related insurance coverage, while keeping some definitions and applicability provisions.

  • Removes the prohibition on physicians from performing certain gender transitioning or reassignment procedures for minors.
  • Eliminates the clause that makes these procedures grounds for suspending or revoking a physician's license.
  • Deletes the part that prohibits insurance coverage for children related to gender transitioning and reassignment procedures.
  • The amendment text does not specify what replaces the deleted sections, so it is unclear how the bill will regulate these issues after the changes.
SF0144SW001

Committee of the Whole • Senator Bouchard

Adopted

Plain English: The amendment adds an exception to the bill, allowing certain medical procedures related to early puberty in children if approved by their parents or guardians.

  • Adds an exception for medical procedures and treatments performed with parental consent for children diagnosed with medically verifiable central precocious puberty.
  • The amendment does not specify what constitutes 'medically verifiable central precocious puberty' or the full range of procedures covered under this exception.
SF0144SS001

Standing Committee • Senate Labor, Health and Social Services Committee

Adopted

Plain English: The amendment adds language to the bill that allows nursing boards to discipline nurses who violate certain rules related to gender transitioning procedures for children.

  • Adds 'or health care provider's' after 'physician's' in the original text.
  • Inserts new references and paragraphs into existing law, specifically adding grounds for disciplining licensees or certificate holders if they violate W.S. 35-4-1001.
  • The exact nature of W.S. 35-4-1001 is not provided in the amendment text, so its specific implications are unclear.
  • Details about how this new paragraph will be implemented and enforced are not specified.

Bill History

  1. 2023-02-27 House

    H COW:H Did not consider for COW

  2. 2023-02-22 House

    H Placed on General File

  3. 2023-02-22 House

    H02 - Appropriations:Recommend Do Not Pass 5-2-0-0-0

  4. 2023-02-15 House

    H Introduced and Referred to H02 - Appropriations

  5. 2023-02-08 House

    H Received for Introduction

  6. 2023-02-08 Senate

    S 3rd Reading:Passed 26-5-0-0-0

  7. 2023-02-07 Senate

    S 2nd Reading:Passed

  8. 2023-02-06 Senate

    S COW:Passed

  9. 2023-02-03 Senate

    S Placed on General File

  10. 2023-02-03 Senate

    S10 - Labor:Recommend Amend and Do Pass 5-0-0-0-0

  11. 2023-01-26 Senate

    S Introduced and Referred to S10 - Labor

  12. 2023-01-24 Senate

    S Received for Introduction

  13. 2023-01-20 LSO

    Bill Number Assigned

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
23LSO-0661
2023
STATE OF WYOMING
23LSO-0661
ENGROSSED
3.0

SENATE FILE NO. SF0144

Chloe's law-children gender change prohibition.

Sponsored by: Senator(s) Bouchard, French, Hutchings, Ide, Laursen, D and McKeown and Representative(s) Heiner, Hornok and Winter

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to public health and safety; prohibiting physicians from performing procedures for children related to gender transitioning and gender reassignment; providing an exception; providing that gender transitioning and reassignment procedures are grounds for suspension or revocation of a physician's or health care provider's license; prohibiting insurance coverage for children for gender transitioning and reassignment procedures; providing definitions; specifying applicability; requiring rulemaking; and providing for effective dates.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Section 1
.

W.S. 26
‑
20
‑
901 and 35
‑
4
‑
1001 are created to read:

ARTICLE 9
COVERAGE FOR GENDER
‑
RELATED PROCEDURES

26
‑
20
‑
901.

Health insurance; coverage of gender transition and reassignment procedures prohibited.

No individual or group health insurance policy providing coverage on an expense incurred basis, individual or group service or indemnity type contract issued by any insurer including any nonprofit corporation or individual or group service contract issued by a health maintenance organization or delivered on or after July 1, 2023 shall include coverage for any gender transitioning or gender reassignment procedure provided to or performed upon a child that is prohibited by W.S. 35
‑
4
‑
1001.

ARTICLE 10
GENDER
‑
RELATED PROCEDURES

35
‑
4
‑
1001.

Gender transitioning and reassignment procedures for children prohibited.

(a)

As used in this section:

(i)

"Child" means a person who is younger than eighteen (18) years of age;

(ii)

"Health care provider" means a person other than a physician who is licensed, certified or otherwise authorized by Wyoming law to provide or render health care or to dispense or prescribe a prescription drug in the ordinary course of business or practice of a profession;

(iii)

"Physician" means any person licensed to practice medicine in this state by the state board of medicine under the Medical Practice Act.

(b)

For purposes of transitioning a child's biological sex as determined by the sex organs and except as provided by subsection (c) of this section, chromosomes and endogenous profiles of the child or affirming the child's perception of the child's sex if that perception is inconsistent with the child's biological sex, no physician or health care provider shall:

(i)

Perform a surgery that sterilizes the child, including castration, vasectomy, hysterectomy, oophorectomy, metoidioplasty, orchiectomy, penectomy, phalloplasty and vaginoplasty;

(ii)

Perform a mastectomy;

(iii)

Provide, administer, prescribe or dispense any of the following prescription drugs that induce transient or permanent infertility:

(A)

Puberty suppression or blocking prescription drugs to stop or delay normal puberty;

(B)

Supraphysiologic doses of testosterone to females;

(C)

Supraphysiologic doses of estrogen to males.

(iv)

Remove any otherwise healthy or non
‑
diseased body part or tissue.

(c)

Subsection (b) of this section shall not apply to procedures or treatments that are performed with the consent of the child's parent or guardian and are for a child who is born with a medically verifiable genetic disorder of sex development, including 46, XX chromosomes with virilization, 46, XY with undervirilization or both ovarian and testicular tissue.

(d)

Subsection (b) of this section shall not apply to any procedure or treatment that is performed with the consent of the child's parent or guardian and is for a child with medically verifiable central precocious puberty.

Section 2.

W.S. 33
‑
21
‑
146(a)(xi), (xii) and by creating a new paragraph (xiii), 33
‑
24
‑
122(a)(intro), (ix) and by creating a new paragraph (xi)

and 33
‑
26
‑
402(a) by creating a new paragraph (xxxvi) are amended to read:

33
‑
21
‑
146.

Disciplining licensees and certificate holders; grounds.

(a)

The board of nursing may refuse to issue or renew, or may suspend or revoke the license, certificate or temporary permit of any person, or to otherwise discipline a licensee or certificate holder, upon proof that the person:

(xi)

Has failed to submit to a mental, physical or medical competency examination following a proper request by the board made pursuant to board rules and regulations and the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act;
or

(xii)

Has violated a previously entered board order
;
.

or

(xiii)

Has violated W.S. 35
‑
4
‑
1001.

33
‑
24
‑
122.

Revocation or suspension of license and registration; letter of admonition; summary suspension; administrative penalties; probation; grounds.

(a)

The license and registration of any pharmacist may be revoked or suspended by the board of pharmacy or the board may issue a letter of admonition, refuse to issue or renew any license or require successful completion of a rehabilitation program or issue a summary suspension for any
one (1) or more
of the following causes:

(ix)

For senility or mental impairment which impedes the pharmacist's professional abilities or for habitual personal use of morphine, cocaine or other habit forming drugs or alcohol;
or

(xi)

For violating W.S. 35
‑
4
‑
1001.

33
‑
26
‑
402.

Grounds for suspension; revocation; restriction; imposition of conditions; refusal to renew or other disciplinary action.

(a)

The board may refuse to renew, and may revoke, suspend or restrict a license or take other disciplinary action, including the imposition of conditions or restrictions upon a license on one (1) or more of the following grounds:

(xxxvi)

Violating W.S. 35
‑
4
‑
1001.

Section 3.

(a)

This act shall apply to all insurance policies delivered or issued for delivery in this state on and after July 1, 2023.

(b)

W.S. 35
‑
4
‑
1001, as created by section 1 of this act, shall apply only to conduct or procedures occurring on and after the effective date of this act.

Section 4.

The insurance commissioner, department of health, state board of medicine and state board of pharmacy shall promulgate all rules necessary to implement this act.

Section 5
.

(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, this act is effective July 1, 2023
.

(b) Sections 4 and 5 of this act are effective immediately upon completion of all acts necessary for a bill to become law as provided by Article 4, Section 8 of the Wyoming Constitution.

(END)

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SF0144