Bill Proposes Making Businesses Indicate Which Bathrooms Open to Transgender People or Face Charges
On 5/27/21 at 12:53 PM EDT
The new Tennessee law that requires businesses and government buildings to have signs if they allow transgender people to use their desired bathrooms can result in six months in prison for those who don't comply.
The bill's sponsor, Republican state Representative Tim Rudd, said that those who break the law may face a class B misdemeanor, despite the penalty going undiscussed during legislative hearings.
Before it became law, Rudd had told other lawmakers in March that the bill "does not provide any fines or penalties at this point." He has since contended that his previous remarks were true because the penalty was later added to a chapter of an existing building code law, which also penalizes violations of smoke alarm and air conditioning requirements.