PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — In less than two days, an anti-transgender bill went from dead in a House committee to moving over to the Senate. 

House Bill 1076 passed the House floor by a 39-31 vote after a lengthy debate on whether the government should require sex be one of six facts listed on birth certificates. HB 1076 further says sex could be changed only within one year of filing, only as a correction, and only through a statement signed by the parents and the physician or whoever else attended the birth.

On Tuesday afternoon, Rep. Fred Deutsch (R-Florence) used a joint legislative procedure known as a smoke-out to give second life to HB 1076 after it failed in committee 7-6 earlier Tuesday morning.

Deutsch told KELOLAND News in a Jan. 22 story that the HB 1076 was about fixing a lack of clarity mainly with the court system “interpreting sex differently.”

The ACLU of South Dakota announced a few hours after the smoke-out that the rights group would challenge it in court if the Legislature passes it. In a news release Wednesday, a spokesperson for the ACLUS said it was time to stop attacks on transgender South Dakotans

“House Bill 1076 is not about accurate vital records or judges struggling with uniform decision making. It is a thinly veiled attempt to discriminate against transgender South Dakotans,” Jett Jonelis, ACLU of South Dakota advocacy manager, said in a statement.  

S.D. lawmakers clash over restricting period when sex can be changed on birth certificates

This is a developing story.