The Latest: Group to try to get bathroom bill on ballot

HELENA, Mont. – The Latest on a measure to regulate use of bathrooms by transgender people (all times local):

1:50 p.m.

A conservative non-profit organization will try to place a transgender bathroom bill on the 2018 ballot for Montana voters to decide.

The announcement by the Montana Family Foundation on Monday comes after a legislative panel rejected a bill calling for a legislative referendum to require people to use the bathrooms and locker rooms that match their gender at birth.

Montana Family Foundation president Jeff Laszloffy says his organization will now look to put the issue before voters as a ballot initiative.

Laszloffy says the people of Montana want to see privacy, safety and dignity protected in locker rooms and showers.

The bill asks voters to decide whether public schools and other government entities must ensure their restrooms and locker rooms provide privacy from people of the opposite sex.

A violation would be subject to a civil lawsuit.

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12:25 p.m.

A Montana legislative panel has rejected a bill that called for a statewide vote on whether to bar transgender people from using bathrooms and locker rooms that don’t match their gender at birth.

The House Judiciary Committee voted 11-7 against the bill on Monday. It is likely dead, though it could be revived if enough votes flip in the committee or if a majority of representatives blast it to the House floor.

Legislators who opposed the bill warned it would lead to humiliation and increased safety risks for transgender people. They added it would harm the state’s economy because entertainers and tourists would see Montana as unwelcoming.

Supporters of the measure say it aims to protect young people and that they believe the economic consequences are exaggerated.

The bill sought to put the issue before voters in 2018.