TALLAHASSEE, FL – Today, the Florida House Infrastructure Strategies Committee voted to advance House Bill 1639 (HB 1639), which seeks to deny the legal existence of transgender individuals by requiring individuals to identify as their sex assigned at birth instead of their gender on their driver’s licenses and ID cards.
The bill requires health plans to cover the widely discredited practice of conversion therapy and creates additional obstacles for health plans to cover gender-affirming care.
The ACLU of Florida opposes HB 1639.
Kara Gross, legislative director and senior policy counsel at the ACLU of Florida, responded with the following:
“This bill seeks to erase transgender Floridians from public life by preventing them from applying for a driver's license or other state ID unless they indicate on their application their sex assigned at birth, instead of their gender.
“HB 1639 is silent on the consequences for transgender individuals who identify their gender on their driver's license or other government-issued identification instead of their sex assigned at birth. Will their licenses be revoked? What if they are renewing their license? Will they no longer be able to hold a valid driver's license? Bill sponsors have neglectfully omitted answers to these questions and we have grave concerns about the life-altering impacts on the trans community.
“The government should not force Floridians to surrender their privacy for simply driving. HB 1639 is harmful, vague, and does nothing to improve the lives of Floridians.
“Additionally, the bill further targets transgender Floridians by requiring health plans to cover the widely discredited and harmful practice of conversion therapy and creates additional obstacles for health plans to cover gender-affirming care.
“We need politicians to stay out of our private lives and focus on passing laws that actually help Florida’s economic growth, solve our insurance and affordable housing crisis, protect our environment, and ensure everyone has access to health care.”
