Republicans on a Senate panel advanced a bill Tuesday to remove state antidiscrimination protections for transgender Iowans. The bill would remove gender identity as a protected characteristic from the Iowa Civil Rights Act.
The Senate hearing came a day after House Republicans advanced the proposal through their judiciary committee. Republicans in both chambers are fast-tracking the bill after introducing it Feb. 20.
Protesters came to the Statehouse again Tuesday to oppose the bill, but not nearly as many as the few hundred people who protested Monday.
The bill is expected to get a vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday, and there’s a public hearing on the bill set for Thursday morning. Republican lawmakers could vote on the bill and send it to the governor’s desk for her signature as soon as Thursday.