Transgender athlete bill to return for 2022 Utah Legislature

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A lawmaker in Utah who proposed legislation that would ban transgender athletes from competing in girls’ sports has announced plans to reintroduce the proposal in 2022.

The Salt Lake Tribune reported the bill, sponsored by Republican state Rep. Kera Birkeland, died in a Senate committee in the final week of the Legislative session this year. Birkeland said she is now taking the opportunity to find common ground with those who raised concerns before bringing it back to the state Legislature.

A public hearing on the bill is scheduled for next month.