California senators approved a bill [text] in a 26-12 vote on Wednesday that will add a third gender option to state IDs for people who identify as non-binary. The bill will next pass to the Assembly and, if approved, will need to be signed by Governor Jerry Brown [official website]. Should Brown sign the bill, California will be the first state to add a third gender option. Driver’s licenses, identity cards, birth certificates and gender change court orders will be included in the types of documents to add a third gender option. The bill also makes it easier to make changes to identifying documents and allows for minors to apply for gender change with consent from their parent or guardian. The previous requirement that a person applying for a court judgment recognizing a change of gender needs to have undergone some kind of treatment for the purpose of gender transition is replaced by a required affidavit attesting that the requested change is not for any fraudulent purposes. The bill is expected to decrease the harassment and discrimination those whose genders do not match what is listed on their identification often experience.

The transgender community has faced significant legal changes and challenges in the last year. In April the US Department of Justice [official website] dropped a lawsuit [JURIST report] against North Carolina concerning a bill requiring transgender people to use the public bathroom associated with their birth gender. North Carolina repealed [JURIST report] House Bill 2 in March with the passage of House Bill 142. Last May former North Carolina governor Pat McCrory filed a complaint for declaratory judgment asking the federal court to weigh in on the legality of the bill but withdrew [JURIST report] from the lawsuit in September. In March 2016 North Carolina individuals and civil rights groups filed a lawsuit [JURIST report] against McCrory, claiming that the bill was unconstitutional and discriminatory. Earlier that month McCrory signed the bill into law [JURIST report], preventing local governments from enacting their own nondiscrimination ordinances and making them unable to pass laws allowing transgender people to use the public restroom or locker room that corresponds with their gender identity.