Florida law requires certain bathrooms be separated on the basis of sex

TAMPA, Fla. (FLV) – Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill that penalizes people who enter bathrooms designated for the opposite sex at certain entities and publicly-funded facilities and refuse to leave once asked.

The law mandates separate male, female or unisex bathrooms for entities such as schools and government buildings.

The governor said the legislation aims to ensure women’s safety.

“A woman should not be in a locker room having to worry about someone from the opposite sex being in their locker room,” DeSantis said.

The bill would apply to educational institutions, detention facilities, correctional institutes, juvenile facilities, and public buildings with a restroom, locker room or changing facility. Those facilities would be required to have facilities for men and women based on biological sex.

The law outlines that someone commits the offense of a trespass if they do not leave one of those facilities once requested.

The House gave final passage to the bill 80-36 while the Senate passed it 26-12. Rep. Rachel Lora Saunders Plakon, R-Lake Mary, and Sen. Erin Grall, R-Fort Pierce, carried the legislation.

The bill said the trespass charge does not apply to Department of Corrections employees and prisoners, detention facility prisoners and employees, juvenile prisoners and staff, as well as students, administrative personnel or instructional personnel at educational institutions.

It requires that the governmental entity establish disciplinary procedures for any employee of the governmental entity who enters a restroom or changing facility designated for the opposite sex and refuses to leave when asked by employees of the governmental entity.

Each covered entity would establish their own disciplinary procedures for their employees.

Someone from outside would be under jurisdiction from local authorities under the trespass.

The governor also signed bills prohibiting minors from attending “adult live performances” and banning sex reassignment surgeries for minors.

Florida Democrats called the bills hypocritical and “against the stated values of elected Republicans.”

“They say that they trust teachers, but accuse them of indoctrination. They say they’re for parental rights, but only for the parents they agree with. Let Floridians live their lives freely, equally, and without undue and discriminatory government interference,” Senate Democratic Leader Lauren Book, D-Davie, said in a statement.