EDITORS/NEWS DIRECTORS:
Statehouse bills to restrict health care for transgender youths were in many cases pre-written and shopped out by a handful of conservative interest groups.
Such "model legislation," ready-made bills suggested by interest groups to lawmakers, has been used in statehouses for decades. But they have raised criticisms about carpetbagging by out-of-state interests, and critics say that in the case of restrictions on gender-affirming care for minors, model legislation allows a handful of far-right groups to spread a narrative based on distorted science.
An analysis of bills by The Associated Press shows many of the proposals, as introduced or passed, are identical or very similar to some pieces of model legislation.
Here are some tips on localizing the story, including examples of some key model bills that you can check against legislation in your state.
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AP'S LATEST COVERAGE
— Many transgender health bills came from a handful of far-right interest groups, AP finds
— Transgender health: Comparing model bills to real proposals
— Meet the influential new player on transgender health bills
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SOME ‘MODEL’ BILLS
Here are some model bills, or bills touted as models by various groups:
A model bill offered by the conservative medical organization Do No Harm:
— The Justice For Adolescent and Child Transitioners Act: https://bit.ly/3MZvjKw
Model bills suggested by the Family Research Council, a conservative evangelical Christian organization:
— Arkansas Act 626: https://bit.ly/42gRHUj
— Alabama Senate Bill 184: https://bit.ly/3Kqf0Dx
— Arizona Senate Bill 1138: https://bit.ly/40VeXH3
Models suggested by Promise to America's Children, a coalition of conservative groups including the Heritage Foundation, the Family Policy Alliance and the Alliance Defending Freedom:
— U.S. House Bill 1926: https://bit.ly/3KJCGEh
— U.S. Senate Bill 778: https://bit.ly/3mkEsCn
— U.S. House Bill 1927: https://bit.ly/43nCHFm
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COMPARING BILLS TO MODELS
— First, find any bills in your state that seek to limit gender-affirming care for minors, and decide which ones to compare to the models above, or to other model bills you've identified on your own. You can find the text of your state’s measures, along with sponsors and the committees reviewing them, at your state government’s free bill-tracking site, with a list of them here: https://bit.ly/414glXt
— The AP used open-source software to assess text similarities and then manually read applicable bills to identify specific commonalities. When looking through bills in your state, pay specific attention to preambles or findings, definitions, and enforcement procedures, which are the sections in which the AP found most commonalities. Also, some model bills share similar language among themselves, so be cautious when attributing common language to a particular model.
— The Center for Public Integrity, an investigative journalism nonprofit, published an award-winning series in 2019 about model legislation called “Copy, Paste, Legislate." Here's its methodology: https://bit.ly/3GoyffH
— Reach out to the bill's sponsors and the group/s that offered the models to present them with your findings and seek comment. Also seek comment from people or families targeted by the bills, along with credible medical experts who can parse claims made in the bills.
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STYLE GUIDANCE
Find tips on coverage and terminology in the AP Stylebook’s Transgender Coverage Topical Guide, as well as in its sections on gender, sex and sexual orientation and on health, science and environment reporting.
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ADDITIONAL AP COVERAGE
— EXPLAINER: What medical treatments do transgender youth get?
— Trans kids’ treatment can start younger, new guidelines say
— How common is transgender treatment regret, detransitioning?
