A hearing has been set for a proposed law in California that would no longer allow transgender athletes to participate in girls’ sports.
Assemblymember Kate Sanchez, R-Rancho Santa Margarita, on Friday night announced her bill to accomplish this, AB 89, has been scheduled for its first hearing on April 1 at 9am. Legislative records online did not yet reflect the date, but lawmakers in the Assembly’s Arts, Entertainment, Sports and Tourism Committee will hold the hearing.
“It’s not just unfair, it’s disheartening and dangerous. For girls, this is more than about competition, it’s about safety,” Sanchez said in a video posted with the announcement.
The issue has been a non-starter for California’s Democratic-led legislature for years but has recently been at the center of attention following the launch of Gov. Newsom’s podcast, “This is Gavin Newsom”. In the first episode, he revealed to conservative political activist Charlie Kirk the issue is “deeply unfair.”
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Leading up to the remarks, he asked Kirk what advice he had for Democrats after losing the 2024 election. Kirk told him he should step up and say trans athletes can no longer compete in women’s sports.
“Would you do something like that? No men in female sports?” Kirk asked.
“I think it’s an issue of fairness. I completely agree with you on that. It is an issue of fairness. It is deeply unfair,” Newsom replied. “We’ve got to own that, we’ve got to acknowledge it.”
At the capitol on Tuesday, the governor would not say if he would support bills that have been filed to ban trans athletes.
He told reporters “I haven’t seen legislative proposals, I have not seen anything.”
The chairman of the committee that will hear AB 89 is Assemblyman Chris Ward, D-San Diego, who is the leader of California’s legislative LGBTQ caucus.
The day Newsom released the podcast episode with Charlie Kirk, Ward and the caucus wrote in part, “we woke up sickened and frustrated by the governor’s remarks.”
KCRA 3 reached out to Ward for comment but had not heard back as of Friday night.
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