HB 205 WOMEN'S BILL OF RIGHTS ACT

Rep Andrea R Reeb

Actions: [3] not prntd-HRC

Scheduled: Not Scheduled

 House Bill 205 (HB 205) enacts the Women's Bill of Rights Act; provides for single-sex environments; and provides guidelines for data collection. 

 House Bill 205 (HB 205) enacts the Women's Bill of Rights Act; provides for single-sex environments; and provides guidelines for data collection.
Definitions and clarifications are provided as follows:

•	"boy" means a human male who is under eighteen years of age; 
•	"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; 
•	"father" means a male parent of a child or children; 
•	"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; 
•	"girl" means a human female who is under eighteen years of age; 
•	"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; 
•	"man" means an adult human of the male sex; 
•	"mother" means a female parent of a child or children; 
•	"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
•	"woman" means an adult human of the female sex.

The act provides that any New Mexico policy, program or statute that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex will be construed as forbidding unfair treatment of females or males in relation to similarly situated members of a different sex. A statute prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex must not be construed as prohibiting separation on the basis of sex in all instances. 
The act specifies that 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:

•	prisons and detention centers; 
•	athletic facilities, including locker rooms; 
•	athletic competitions; 
•	institutions of higher education; 
•	living facilities; 
•	bathrooms; 
•	domestic violence shelters; and 
•	rape crisis centers. 

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 must, 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 does 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.
The act states that 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 will not be affected.
 

 While New Mexico does have selected laws prohibiting discrimination and addressing violence against women, there is no existing law specifically addressing definitions provided here, provision for single-sex environments; or these mandates regarding data collection. If the bill does not pass, current law will need to be relied upon when addressing these issues.