Judiciary committee approves Stubblefield amendment cutting SB199 statute-of-limitations to 15 years

Senate Judiciary Committee members voted to adopt an amendment to Senate Bill 199 that reduces a statute-of-limitations provision from 30 years to 15 years, advancing the measure out of committee as amended. Senator Gary Stubblefield (District 26), the bill sponsor, asked the committee to approve the change and said he had discussed the issue with medical professionals.

Supporters and witnesses offered competing evidence about long-term harms and the ability to pursue claims. "All it does is reduce the statute of limitations ... back to 15 years," Stubblefield said when introducing the amendment. In public comment, Allison Whitman, a licensed mental-health professional, told the committee that suicidality among transgender youth is increasing and urged lawmakers to consider the legislation's effect on vulnerable children. Stubblefield and others cited a Swedish study and commentary they said show elevated long-term suicide and mental‑health risks after gender-transition treatments.

Committee members questioned whether a 15-year limit measured from discovery would leave sufficient evidence to sustain civil claims; Stubblefield replied he believed evidence would be available in many cases because psychological and physical consequences can persist across a lifetime. A short procedural motion to limit debate was approved before public testimony. After questioning and comment, Stubblefield moved to adopt SB199 as engrossed; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote, and the chair announced that the bill "passed as amended."

The committee record shows no roll-call vote or tallied yeas and nays in the transcript; the outcome was recorded by voice as "ayes have it." The amendment changes the filing deadline language so that a civil action "shall be filed not later than 15 years after the date on which the minor turns 18," which sponsor comments indicated could be interpreted as a filing deadline extending to age 33 in some circumstances.

What happens next: With the committee's adoption of the amendment, SB199 advances from the Judiciary Committee. The transcript does not record subsequent floor scheduling or final statutory text beyond the committee action.