Transgender Texans will not be able to change the sex listed on their driver’s licenses, according to a policy change rolled out this week.
Under the new policy, Texans will not be able to change the sex on their licenses unless it is to fix a clerical error. Sheri Gipson, the chief of the Driver License Division at the Texas Department of Public Safety, confirmed the change when reached by phone on Wednesday.
The change comes as conservative states across the country move to make it more difficult for transgender Americans to update their documents with the sex that matches their gender identity. Similar steps have recently been taken in Florida, Kansas and Montana.
Transgender Texans could previously change the sex listed on their driver’s license by bringing an original certified court order or an amended birth certificate verifying the change, according to an archived version of the Department of Public Safety license website.
As of Wednesday, this information was no longer on the website.
A spokesperson for the Department of Public Safety sent a statement late Wednesday, explaining the change by pointing to Attorney General Ken Paxton.
A Republican, Paxton has vocally opposed expanding rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people both at the federal and state level.
“The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has recently raised concerns regarding the validity of court orders being issued which purport to order state agencies — including DPS — to change the sex of individuals in government records, including driver licenses and birth certificates,” the agency said in an unsigned statement sent after 8 p.m.
“Neither DPS nor other government agencies are parties to the proceedings that result in the issuance of these court orders, and the lack of legislative authority and evidentiary standards for the Courts to issue these orders has resulted in the need for a comprehensive legal review by DPS and the OAG. Therefore, as of Aug. 20, 2024, DPS has stopped accepting these court orders as a basis to change sex identification in department records – including driver licenses.”
Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Attorney General Ken Paxton and Speaker Dade Phelan did not respond to questions about the change sent earlier Wednesday.
Brad Pritchett, interim CEO of the LGBTQ rights group Equality Texas, said this negatively affects the nearly 93,000 transgender adults living here.
"Just like people who change their names after marriage want their correct name on their license, trans Texans want their driver’s license to reflect their gender. We use our IDs to navigate all areas of life, driving, voting, employment. Having an ID that reflects who you are is a basic form of dignity that many take for granted."
The Texas Newsroom has received a copy of an email announcing the Texas policy change. An agency employee, who wanted to be unnamed because they are not authorized to speak to the media, said the email was sent to staff this week.
This email states:
"Effective immediately, August 20, 2024, the Department will not accept court orders or amended birth certificates issued that change the sex when it differs from documentation already on file. The validity of such documents is currently under review by Office of the Director to ensure that all state and federal guidelines are being met. For current DL/ID holders, the sex established at the time of original application and listed in the driver record will not be changed unless there was a clerical error. The sex will reflect the sex listed on the primary document presented upon original application that is already on file. This does not mean we will deny the issuance of or renewal of the DL/ID. The issuance can proceed with documentation on file, and this decision will be left up to the customer. If a first-time applicant presents conflicting documents, such as a birth certificate with a court order requiring a sex change, the sex listed on the original birth certificate will take precedence to record the sex.
If a single court order contains both a name change and a sex change, we cannot accept the order. The applicant will be processed with no change and with the information on file.
We will continue to make corrections when a clerical error has been made and the documentation supports the correction."
The email went on to ask division employees to send copies of documentation requesting these updates to a special email address with the subject line "Sex Change Court Order."
It is unclear what prompted the change now.
In 2022, Paxton sought information from the agency about transgender Texans who requested changes on their licenses. The request also came from the division director, according to The Washington Post.
“A verbal request was received,” the then-Department of Public Safety spokesman said at the time. “Ultimately, our team advised the AG’s office the data requested neither exists nor could be accurately produced. Thus, no data of any kind was provided.”
Ian Pittman, an Austin-based family law practitioner, said he is concerned the license policy change is a way to finish the job from 2022 and create a state database of transgender people.
“That’s the biggest concern I have,” he said. “What are they going to do with that information?”
Pittman has been helping transgender Texans update their identification documents for 15 years. He is still advising his clients to proceed as normal with changing their birth certificates and social security cards, which are done through other agencies.
Pittman believes the agency did not follow state rulemaking procedures in making the policy change. He said it pits the agency against the courts.
“This is a new rule that is being created whole cloth to ignore valid court orders,” Pittman said.
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