North Dakota governor signs biological sex bathroom bill, still allows 'reasonable accommodation'

North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum signed legislation that requires people to use bathrooms and shower rooms in accordance with their biological sex at state-run facilities.

While the bill does not cover all state-run facilities, the list contained prisons, youth correctional centers, dormitories, or any housing controlled by the state board or higher education.

House Bill 1473 posited that restrooms and shower rooms are "exclusively for males or exclusively for females."

"In a correctional facility, a restroom or shower room accessible by multiple inmates at the same time must be designated for use exclusively for males or exclusively for females," the legislation read.

"In a correctional facility, a restroom or shower room designated for one sex may be used only by members of that sex," it continued.

It also stated that an "administrator or correctional facility staff member shall provide a reasonable accommodation for an inmate, including a transgender or gender-nonconforming inmate, as deemed appropriate by the administrator."

The bill, however, did not provide a definition for nor state what a "reasonable accommodation" would be. In addition to allowing such accommodations, the bill also said it "does not prohibit a dormitory administrator or dormitory staff member from entering a restroom or shower room designated for the opposite sex in the course of official employment duties."

The bill passed the state’s House and Senate and did not require a veto from the Republican governor, TimCast reported. As well, the previous week Governor Burgam signed a law that prohibits providing surgeries or sex-change hormones to minors, making it a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

The law also called for $20,000 in fines for any health care provider that gives a sex-change surgery to a minor. In addition, providing puberty blockers or hormone therapy to a minor is considered a misdemeanor under the law, with a possible 360 days in prison and $3,000 fine.

The ACLU, which is tracking what it calls "Attacks on LGBTQ Rights in U.S. State Legislatures," included the North Dakota bill on its list of 17 "anti-LGBTQ bills" in the state.

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