House Bill 805 started as a bipartisan bill to fight human trafficking and provide women with an avenue to remove nonconsensual content and images from the internet. House members on both sides of the aisle felt so strongly about the issue, they passed the bill 113-0 last month.
But when the bill (‘Prevent the Sexual Exploitation of Women and Minors Act’) moved to the upper chamber, Senator Buck Newton (R- Greene, Wayne, Wilson) saw an opportunity to rework the legislation. Newton’s proposed committee substitute for HB 805, spells out there are only two sexes – male and female – and that gender identity shall not be treated as legally equivalent to biological sex.
Senator Buck Newton addresses members of the Senate Judiciary Committee on June 10, 2025. (Screengrab from NCGA stream)“This section ensures that our state follows federal policy and aligns with President Trump’s executive order,” Newton told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday. “This ensures our state maintains eligibility for any and all federal funding.”
Newton’s proposal would ban the use of state funds for transgender surgeries for any prisoner incarcerated in the state prison system.
The final section of Newton’s PCS would require that when a person changes their sex on a birth certificate, the State Registrar must attach the new certificate to the original certificate of birth on file, preserving both copies. The state would also forward a copy of the new certificate to the register of deeds in the county of birth where both would be kept on file.
“What problem are we really trying to solve in terms of efficiency or cost savings?” asked Senator Sophia Chitlik (D-Durham).
“Well, there seems to be a great deal of confusion among our society about the fluidity of sex,” replied Newton. “And it is time that we clarify, once and for all, what most people recognize would be obvious, which is that there are only two sexes.”
“I actually don’t understand why this chamber is so obsessed with genitalia, but here we are,” said Sen. Sydney Batch (D-Wake) noting the new PCS does not allow for a definition that’s based in science.
Batch said the original House bill intended to safeguard women and children from exploitation by the pornography industry was a “fantastic bill” and that Newton’s proposal should be a standalone bill judged on its own merits.
Senator Mujtaba Mohammed (D-Mecklenburg) questioned why the bill which once enjoyed unanimous support seeks to bar gender affirming care in the prison system.
“We reached out to our state agencies, and they confirmed that they’ve never authorized sexual procedures, there’s never been gender affirming care, there’s never been any authorized gender affirming surgeries,” Mohammed said. “As a Republican, supporting limited government, why are we coming up with unnecessary laws?”
Newton acknowledged while such medical surgeries had not happened yet using North Carolina funds, he believes taxpayers would appreciate that state funds will not be spent in this manner.
“We draw the line now, before anybody attempts to do such a thing.”
Reighlah Collins, Policy Counsel for the ACLU of North Carolina (Screengrab from NCGA stream)Sen. Lisa Grafstein (D-Wake) said Newton’s proposal reminded her of the hurricane Helene recovery bill – a clean bill that passed the House only to be muddied and politicized when it moved to the Senate.
“The idea that we’re going to put into law that you cannot be transgendered, or that you cannot be all the things that you are railing against is a fool’s errand,” said Grafstein.
Reighlah Collins, Policy Counsel for the ACLU of North Carolina, said the PCS enforces rigid definitions of sex and gender, while forcibly outing people who change their sex on their birth certificate.
“These attempts are part of a larger strategy to push transgender people out of public life,” said Collins.
Sen. Batch said she’d like to see the Judiciary Committee vote on the original House bill, setting aside Newton’s additions.
Rep. Laura Budd (D-Mecklenburg), a primary sponsor of the bill in the House, appealed to the Senate Judiciary Committee to remember the original intent of the bipartisan legislation.
Rep. Laura Budd (D-Mecklenburg)“If you are the victim of human trafficking and there are images or videos of you online there is no remedy in the state of North Carolina to have those images or videos removed from the internet, which means that you’re stuck,” said Budd.
Budd said House Bill 805 was a long time coming and is an important tool to help women who’ve been taken advantage of to have these images removed and the videos taken down.
Budd requested that Newton remove his proposal and find another avenue to advance his PCS.
“When we take this bill and we layer it with those things [in the PCS] we’re not doing good for people with Carolina. We are imposing onto the bill things that are going to make it become the political football,” said Budd.
Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee adjourned Tuesday before voting on the matter. The bill is back on the agenda for Wednesday afternoon.
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