Sen. President Karen Spilka says she’s optimistic about a bill that would allow a third gender option on state ID cards, after speaking with Gov. Charlie Baker about the issue.
“He’s fine with it, we’ve talked about it,” Spilka said in an interview with Boston Public Radio Thursday. “... I think at this point, the prospect is good.”
The bill is slated to go to a vote in the Senate within the next few weeks, with a renewed legislative push by Mass. lawmakers and El, a non-binary constituent and advocate for the bill’s passage.
Spilka received a letter from El in 2017, asking Spilka if she could help ensure that gender non-binary individuals would not have to select either “male” or “female” gender markers on their driver’s licenses and state ID cards.
“It was an incredibly powerful, beautifully written letter,” Spilka said. “They said this is about validating people and letting people be who they are.”
Spilka drafted legislation that would require the Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) to allow people to list their gender as “X” on a learner’s permit, license or state ID card. The bill passed in the Senate and went before the House, but now-chair of the Mass. Republican Party Rep. Jim Lyons delayed the measure and effectively prevented a vote.
One year later, Sen. Jo Comerford (D-Northampton) re-introduced the bill, which will now head to the Senate and House before making its way to Baker’s desk.
This legislation bolsters an already developing program within the RMV to provide a non-binary option.
“The RMV is ready to roll with this,” Spilka said. “They just recently redid their whole software… they could easily add another X without a single penny cost.”
“I think that once the Senate does it, hopefully the House will do it,” she continued, “[and] I believe that the governor will support it.”
