HOUSE BILL 205

56th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2024

INTRODUCED BY

Andrea Reeb and Jenifer Jones and Gail Armstrong

and Cathrynn N. Brown and Candy Spence Ezzell

 

 

 

 

AN ACT

RELATING TO SEX; ENACTING THE WOMEN'S BILL OF RIGHTS ACT; PROVIDING FOR SINGLE-SEX ENVIRONMENTS; PROVIDING GUIDELINES FOR DATA COLLECTION.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     SECTION 1. [NEW MATERIAL] SHORT TITLE.--This act may be cited as the "Women's Bill of Rights Act".

     SECTION 2. [NEW MATERIAL] DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Women's Bill of Rights Act:

          A. "boy" means a human male who is under eighteen

years of age;

          B. "equal" does not mean "same" or "identical" with respect to the treatment of the different sexes and the objective and enduring physical differences between men and women;

          C. "father" means a male parent of a child or

children;

          D. "female" means a person who has had, will have

through biological development or would have but for a

developmental anomaly, genetic anomaly or accident, the

reproductive system that at some point produces ova;

          E. "girl" means a human female who is under

eighteen years of age;

          F. "male" means a person who has had, will have

through biological development or would have but for a developmental anomaly, genetic anomaly or accident, the

reproductive system that at some point produces sperm;

          G. "man" means an adult human of the male sex;

          H. "mother" means a female parent of a child or

children;

          I. "sex" means a person's objective or fixed

biological categorization of either male or female as observed

or clinically verified at birth; "sex" does not mean gender; and

          J. "woman" means an adult human of the female sex.

     SECTION 3. [NEW MATERIAL] SEX DISCRIMINATION--SINGLE-SEX ENVIRONMENTS.--

          A. Any New Mexico policy, program or statute that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex shall be construed as forbidding unfair treatment of females or males in relation to similarly situated members of the opposite sex. A statute prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex shall not be construed as prohibiting separation on the basis of sex in all instances.

          B. The state or its political subdivisions and

instrumentalities may provide environments designated for one

sex exclusively, where the single sexes are not similarly

situated, including:

                (1) prisons and detention centers;

                (2) athletic facilities, including locker

rooms;

                (3) athletic competitions;

                (4) institutions of higher education;

                (5) living facilities;

                (6) bathrooms;

                (7) domestic violence shelters; and

                (8) rape crisis centers.

     SECTION 4. [NEW MATERIAL] SEX-SPECIFIC DATA COLLECTION.-- A public school, school district, state agency or political subdivision of the state that collects vital statistics related to sex for the purpose of complying with antidiscrimination laws or for the purpose of gathering accurate public health, crime, economic or other data shall, to the extent feasible, identify each natural person who is part of the collected data set as either male or female. Compliance with this section shall not require the collection of data related to sex unless otherwise required by law, and it shall not prevent the collection of additional data points other than sex.

     SECTION 5. [NEW MATERIAL] SEVERABILITY.--If any part or application of the Women's Bill of Rights Act is held invalid, the remainder or its application to other situations or persons shall not be affected.

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