Bill would overturn ruling on transgender use of bathrooms
By Christopher Cousins, BDN Staff
Posted Feb. 26, 2011, at 7:16 p.m.

http://new.bangordailynews.com/2011/02/26/politics/bill-would-overturn-ruling-on-transgender-use-of-bathrooms/

AUGUSTA, Maine — Rep. Kenneth Fredette, R-Newport, knows he's about to step into an ideological hornet's nest. He's been there before.

Fredette, a former member of the Maine Human Rights Commission who was elected for the House of Representatives in November, seeks to overturn a 2010 commission decision regarding transgender students in public schools. In September the commission opted to work with the Department of Education after the gubernatorial election to develop guidelines for how to accommodate transgender students' use of bathroom and locker room facilities. That process has yet to unfold.

Fredette's bill, "An Act to Amend the Application of the Maine Human Rights Act Regarding Public Accommodations," would amend the Maine Human Rights Act to explicitly allow "the operator of a restroom or shower facility" to decide who can use which gender's bathroom.