Housing

HB 404 amends Utah's Fair Housing Act to allow landlords to designate housing as single-sex based on biological sex at birth, specifically for accommodations where residents share bedrooms or bathrooms. This exemption explicitly states that restricting occupancy to individuals of a designated biological sex is not considered unlawful discrimination under the law. The bill clarifies definitions (including "biological sex at birth" and "single-sex housing") and updates related code sections to reflect this change. It directly affects landlords operating single-sex housing facilities and residents seeking such housing, removing potential legal barriers for these specific arrangements.

HB 183 amends Utah state laws to replace the term "gender" with "sex" in all relevant statutes and removes protections based on gender identity. It repeals existing provisions covering gender identity in housing, employment, and crime, prohibits changes to sex designations on birth certificates, and restricts student access to privacy spaces based on biological sex. The bill also requires state agencies to use "sex" instead of "gender" in rulemaking, bars certain employees in child-related roles from having face-to-face contact with children if their work presents a different sex than their biological sex, and directs courts to consider parental opposition to a child's gender identity (conflicting with biological sex) as a factor in custody decisions. These changes directly affect transgender and gender-diverse individuals, schools, healthcare providers, and courts handling custody cases. The bill contains no funding impacts and is currently in early legislative stages.