Transgender and gender nonconforming Kentuckians would be forced to use the bathroom tied to their assigned sex at birth under a new Republican bill.

House Bill 867, filed by Rep. Bill Wesley (R-Ravenna), would apply to all “multi-occupancy private spaces” in public buildings in Kentucky — so, bathrooms and locker rooms in any space owned, leased or operated by state and local governments. 

Anyone wishing to use those facilities would be required to use the one tied to their assigned sex at birth, and the bill only includes male and female sexes. 

HB 867 includes several exceptions for those caring for a child, elderly person or someone with a disability, emergency personnel or instances where their assigned bathroom is out of order. 

At least 10 other Republicans have signed on to co-sponsor the legislation since it was filed Tuesday.

Wesley has vowed to file legislation along these lines for nearly a year after he went viral in right-wing circles for accosting a transgender woman for using a women’s restroom at the state Capitol last March during a trans joy and visibility event. 

That altercation spiraled across one of the final days of Kentucky’s 2025 legislative session, resulting in claims that Sen. Karen Berg — a Louisville Democrat who lost her transgender son to suicide in 2022 — “slapped” him on the House floor after a visibly terse exchange between the two, leading to Berg losing her privileges to be on the House floor. 

Wesley has tried to push for “bathroom bans” before, including getting part of his proposal to limit access to school bathrooms added to Kentucky’s 2023 Senate Bill 150, which was seen as one of the worst pieces of anti-trans legislation that year. 

Lawmakers have until April 1 to pass any legislation that Gov. Andy Beshear may veto.