ARKANSAS: Bathroom Bill Dead For Current Session

The Associated Press reports:

An Arkansas lawmaker dropped her proposal Wednesday prohibiting individuals from using bathrooms in government buildings that do not match their gender at birth after the legislation had faced opposition from the state’s Republican governor and tourism groups.

GOP Sen. Linda Collins-Smith withdrew her proposal, which would have required every restroom or changing facility accessible by multiple people at the same time in a government building be designated for use by members of only one sex. The proposal had not advanced past a Senate committee, and lawmakers are entering the final days of this year’s legislative session.

Collins-Smith said she wants the issue studied so lawmakers can look at the proposal again. She has said the proposal was needed to protect the privacy of students by preventing someone of the opposite sex from changing or showering in front of them. “We’ll take any opportunity we can to pass that bill and at least we’ll have a different body that looks at it,” Collins-Smith said.

Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson had opposed the measure, saying he didn’t see the need for a bathroom bill similar to North Carolina’s law, which had drawn widespread boycotts from businesses. Tourism groups had also opposed Collins-Smith’s measure, warning it could harm the state’s economy.