Tennessee's anti-trans bill could cost the state $2 billion in lost revenue, panel says

• A Tennessee anti-trans bill defining "sex" as "biological anatomy at birth" is moving through the state legislature.
• If passed, the bill could cost the state $2 billion in revenue, a report from the state fiscal review committee says.
• The state's health department could lose $750 million dollars if the bill passes, according to the report.

The state of Tennessee could lose upt to $2 billion in revenue if the state legislature passes an anti-trans bill that defines sex as "biological anatomy at birth," according to the state's fiscal review committee.

A February 28 report from the committee says that the bill could result in increased state and local spending to be in compliance with the new law.

"Proposed language may result in increases to state and local expenditures associated with compliance measures, potential civil litigation, and could jeopardize federal funding," the report says.

The Federal Department of Education said that the billl, if passed, could jeaprodize the funding that the state's schools get through the Individuals with Disabilities Act and Title 1, intended to give financial assistance to low-income children, according to the report.

The state health department also stands to lose $750 million in federal grant money if the bill passes because it could be out of compliance with Title X, which allows for alternate definitions of "sex," the report states.

Republican state Rep. Gino Bulso, who filed the bill, told WREG that he disagrees with the report because "the term 'sex' is already used repeatedly in the code."

"All that this particular bill does is to provide clarity as to what prior General Assemblies meant," Bulso told the outlet.

Tennessee has passed several anti-trans and anti-drag laws in recent years. A 2021 law banned school students from learning about LGBTQ topics without parental consent. In February, a photo of Tennessee Governor Bill Lee in drag in 1977 surfaced on Reddit. Lee has pushed for anti-drag and anti-trans legislation in the state.

Bulso argued that his bill is only intended to clarify what lawmakers meant when they used the word "sex" in previous state General Assemblies, according to WREG.

"We already have the term in the code. Our General Assembly has already meant what it has meant by use of the term in the code," Bulso told the outlet. "The General Assembly, when it has used the term 'sex,' has always meant to refer to one's biological sex."

Brian Sullivan, director of the Trans Equality Project, told WREG that the bill "sends the message that LGBTQ Tennesseans are not wanted."