Gov. Brad Little has signed three contentious bills passed by the Idaho Legislature, despite calls from opponents to veto. On March 30, Little signed House bills 440, 500 and 509; the latter two specifically affect transgender Idahoans.

“We’re obviously very disappointed that the governor would sign such discriminatory bills into law,” said Kathy Griesmeyer, policy director at ACLU of Idaho.

HB 440 bans affirmative action for public entities; HB 500 prohibits transgender girls from competing in high school or collegiate sports, and HB 509 prevents transgender people from changing their gender identities on their birth certificates.

“There are a lot of mistakes the governor has made,” Griesmeyer said. “Idaho leadership has failed [Idahoans].”

Griesmeyer said the bills send a message to transgender Idahoans that the government doesn’t value them. Additionally, the bills are rife with constitutional issues, including violations of Title IX and a violation of the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. A lawsuit is inevitable, Griesmeyer said.

Opponents of the bills find HB 500 particularly draconian, requiring invasive medical exams of female athletes suspected of being transgender. The bill was written by Rep. Barbara Ehardt, R-Twin Falls, who named it the “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act.” She has defended her bill as protecting the interests of female student athletes in Idaho.

Opponents of the bill haven’t only been civil rights organizations: The Office of the Attorney General also cautioned that the bills likely won’t stand up to legal scrutiny.

“The applicable legal standard depends on the class of individuals that would be treated differently. Courts have found that governmental actions distinguishing between transgender and non-transgender individuals is a type of sex-based discrimination,” Deputy Attorney General Brain Kane wrote in an opinion to the legislature. “H. 509 appears to try to thread the rapidly shrinking constitutional eye of a needle. This office cannot determine at this point whether that eye can be threaded with H. 509, but notes that based on the existent case law it will likely require the State to litigate this matter to the United States Supreme Court.”

Signing the bills wasn’t Little’s only action on March 30. He also vetoed a bill that would compensate wrongfully convicted Idahoans. Little released a statement, noting that while the bill has noble intentions, he believes it could be costly to taxpayers beyond what was indicated in the bill’s legally mandated fiscal note.