Hawaii Senate Passes HB 546!

I mentioned HB 546 in a previous TransGriot post.   It's a bill that would ban trans workplace discrimination in Hawaii and had passed in the Senate Judiciary Committee on a 3-2 vote.

Well, it did much better once it got to the Senate floor.    The Hawaii Senate passed HB 546 on a 22-2 vote.   It already passed in the Hawaii House by a similarly lopsided 42-4 margin.

The legislation prohibits employment discrimination based on gender identity and expression and adds the  protections to the employment section of Hawaii's nondiscrimination law.    That law already covers housing and public accommodation discrimination based on gender identity and expression.

The good news is that unlike the previous GOP governor, Gov. Neil Abercrombie (D) is expected to sign it.

Hawaii Trans Job Protections Bill Passes Senate Judiciary Committee

While the HB 235 fiasco in Maryland has center stage, the news is better out of President Obama's home state.   On Monday HB 546, a bill that would ban workplace discrimination against transpeople passed the Senate Judiciary and Labor Committee on a 3-2 vote.

Of course, the right wing haters put up a fight, but justice prevailed.

The State of Hawaii already bans discrimination against trans people in the areas of public accommodations and housing.   The ban on workplace discrimination against transpeople was already established by Human Rights Commission rulings but hadn't been codified into law.  

Six years ago an identical bill passed the Hawaii Legislature that attempted to do just that but it was vetoed by Republican Governor Linda Lingle.  Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Clayton Hee is confident that HB 546 will become law.

The bill has already passed the Hawaii House, and once it passes the Senate will need to go to conference committee to fix some technical differences between the House and Senate versions before it goes to Gov. Neil Abercrombie for his signature.