Protect Trans & Queer Utahns: Take Action This Session

The 2026 Utah Legislature is moving multiple bills that target transgender and queer people’s health care, housing, safety, and basic dignity. As we celebrate Pride on the mountain, we’re also asking our community to show up for trans and LGBTQIA+ Utahns at the Capitol.

Below is a snapshot of key 2026 bills, how they harm our community, and how you can contact your lawmakers right now.

  • HB 95 – Public Employee Gender-specifiic Language Requirements
    • What it does:  HB 95 would bar schools and other public employers from disciplining staff who refuse to use a student’s or coworker’s correct name and pronouns.
    • Why it matters: This effectively green-lights misgendering and deadnaming at school and work, undermining any local efforts to create safe, respectful environments for trans and nonbinary people.
  • HB 174 – Sex Characteristic Change Treatment Amendments
    • What it does: HB 174 builds on the 2023 law (SB 16) by turning Utah’s current “moratorium” on new hormonal treatment for trans minors into a full ban on gender-affirming hormone therapy and puberty blockers for all minors, starting in 2027.
    • Why it matters: This strips families and doctors of options that major medical organizations recognize as standard care for trans youth, and it further entrenches the idea that trans young people don’t deserve medically appropriate treatment.
  • HB 183 – Sex Designation Amendments
    • What it does: HB 183 rewrites multiple sections of Utah code to replace “gender” with “sex,” removes gender-identity protections in areas like housing and employment, and would bar trans and nonbinary people who don’t “present” as their sex at birth from certain jobs involving children. It also pushes courts to treat a parent’s refusal to support a child’s gender identity as a factor for giving that parent custody.
    • Why it matters: Advocates describe HB 183 as a broad attack on trans and nonbinary Utahns: it weakens anti-discrimination protections, polices how people look and work, and uses custody law to punish affirming parents.
  • HB 193 – Transgender Medical Procedures Amendments (failed this session, but important to name)
    • What it did: HB 193 would have prohibited the use of public funds for gender-affirming care — including hormones and surgeries — for both minors and adults, cutting off access via public employee insurance and other public programs.
    • Status: Failed in the 2026 session, after strong opposition from advocates.
    • Why we still list it: Even when they fail, these bills send a message that trans people’s health care is up for debate and can re-emerge in future sessions.
  • HB 404 – Housing Restrictions for Transgender Renters
    • What it does: HB 404 would let landlords designate “single-sex” housing based on biological sex and explicitly say it is not unlawful discrimination to exclude renters whose sex at birth doesn’t match that designation. The bill is aimed at off-campus and privately owned shared housing, expanding a 2025 law that already restricted where trans students can live in public university housing.
    • Why it matters: In a housing crisis, lawmakers are trying to carve out new ways to legally deny housing to trans renters, especially young people in shared housing. Advocates warn this may conflict with federal fair housing protections and will worsen housing instability for trans people.
  • HB 122 – Pregnant and Postpartum Inmate Amendments
    • What it does: Alongside pregnancy provisions, HB 122 sets strict rules for how Utah prisons and jails house transgender inmates. It generally bars housing people together unless their sex at birth matches, and only allows trans people to be housed otherwise after a burdensome “individualized security analysis,” with ongoing reviews and reporting requirements.
    • Why it matters: For trans people in custody, this raises the bar for accessing safer, gender-appropriate housing and reinforces sex-at-birth as the default, even though trans inmates are already at higher risk of violence and harm.

Where to Get Live Updates

For a full, always-up-to-date list of bills affecting LGBTQ+ Utahns:

Who to Contact

You don’t have to be a policy expert. The most powerful things you can say are: “I live in your district. I oppose these bills. Here’s why.”

Your Own State Lawmakers

  1. Find your Utah House Representative and Senator
    • Go to the Utah Legislature site and use the “Find by Address/Map” tool under Legislators to look up your state House and Senate members.
    • Once you find them, you’ll see their email, office phone, and an online contact form.
  2. Use the official contact portals
  3. Call the general legislative number
    • Capitol main line: (801) 538-1408 – you can ask to be connected to your Representative or Senator’s office.

Key bill sponsors (optional, for people who want to go deeper)

After you contact your own Representative and Senator, you can also write directly to the sponsors of these bills using the contact info on the Utah Legislature website.

  • HB 174 – Rep. Rex Shipp (House), Sen. Daniel McCay (Senate sponsor).
  • HB 183 – Rep. Trevor Lee.
  • HB 193 – Rep. Nicholeen Peck.
  • HB 404 – Rep. David Shallenberger.

Sample Email Template

Subject line ideas:

  • “Please vote NO on HB 174, HB 183, HB 404”
  • “Protect trans Utahns: oppose HB 95, HB 174, HB 183”

Body:

Dear [Senator/Representative LAST NAME],My name is [YOUR NAME], and I live in [CITY / ZIP] in your district.

I’m writing to ask you to vote NO on HB 95, HB 174, HB 183, HB 404, and any similar bills that target transgender and LGBTQ+ Utahns. These bills threaten real people in our communities:

– HB 95 would give public employees permission to misgender and deadname students and coworkers, making schools and workplaces less safe for trans people.
– HB 174 would turn the current moratorium on care into a full ban on gender-affirming hormone treatment and puberty blockers for all minors, even when families and doctors agree it’s needed.
– HB 183 would roll back gender-identity protections and punish trans and nonbinary people for how we look, work, and parent, including in housing, employment, and child custody decisions.
– HB 404 would make it easier to deny housing to transgender renters in “single-sex” housing, at a time when many Utahns already struggle to find a safe place to live.

Trans and queer people are your constituents, neighbors, coworkers, students, and family members. We deserve safety, housing, health care, and respect — not laws that single us out for harm.

I urge you to oppose these bills and support policies that protect all Utahns, including transgender and LGBTQ+ people.Thank you for your time and for listening to your constituents,
[YOUR NAME]
[CITY / ZIP]

Sample Phone Script

Hi, my name is [YOUR NAME], and I live in [CITY / ZIP] in your district.

I’m calling to ask [Senator/Representative LAST NAME] to vote NO on HB 95, HB 174, HB 183, HB 404, and any other bills that target transgender and LGBTQ+ people. These bills attack basic things like health care, housing and safety for trans Utahns.

Please let [him/her/them] know that as a constituent, I want our laws to protect trans and queer people, not put them at greater risk.

Thank you.

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