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EXCLUSIVE: A California Republican lawmaker is pushing to reverse a statewide policy that allows biological males to play in female sports, with The Daily Wire's Matt Walsh slated to testify before elected officials in a Tuesday hearing.
California Assembly member Bill Essayli has introduced AB 844, which calls for a student's participation in sports programs and activities, use of facilities, including bathrooms, locker rooms, showers and hotel accommodations, to be based on their biological sex.
In California, a law called AB 1266 has been in effect since 2014, giving students at the scholastic and collegiate levels the right to "participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, and use facilities consistent with his or her gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil’s records."
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"I believe the Democrats will double down and reject this bill tomorrow," Essayli, who has fought the Democratic-controlled state Legislature on everything from illegal immigration to soft-on-crime policies, told Fox News Digital. "They want to make a public scene out of it so they can be heroes to their progressive base."
The bill will have a hearing on Tuesday via the Arts, Entertainment, Sports and Tourism Committee. Walsh, a conservative activist who has criticized the inclusion of biological males in women's sports, will testify in favor of the legislation.
By restoring biological sex-based distinctions in school athletics and facilities, the bill will ensure fairness in competition, as well as safeguarding student privacy and dignity, according to a fact sheet provided to Fox News Digital. It would also provide clarity to school administrators and staff by establishing a clear and enforceable statewide policy and protect the integrity of Title IX.
Also slated to speak on Tuesday will be Taylor Starling, a high school cross-country runner at Martin Luther King High School in Riverside, California, who lost her spot on the varsity team earlier this season to a transgender transfer student.
Walsh, a conservative activist, has pushed back against child sex-change surgeries and treatments, as well as allowing men to play women's sports.
"Girls shouldn’t have to compete with boys or change next to them in locker rooms—this isn’t complicated," Walsh, a podcast host for the Daily Wire and creator of the "What Is a Woman" documentary, told Fox News Digital. "Even Gavin Newsom, after sniffing the political wind, now admits it’s unfair—let’s see if California Democrats can stop playing pretend and follow his sudden rediscovery of basic truth."
California Code of Regulations section 4910(k) defines gender as: "A person’s actual sex or perceived sex and includes a person’s perceived identity, appearance or behavior, whether or not that identity, appearance, or behavior is different from that traditionally associated with a person’s sex at birth."
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California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Bylaw 300.D. mirrors the Education Code, stating: "All students should have the opportunity to participate in CIF activities in a manner that is consistent with their gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on a student’s records."
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, has come out against allowing biological males to compete against females, prompting backlash from many progressives.
"Gavin Newsom gets it on this issue," said Eassayli. "He's gotten the wake-up call. He's found a new narrative now and he agrees with us that it's unfair for women and girls to have boys play on their teams."
Eassayli noted that Republican lawmakers are almost paralyzed when it comes to making policy in Sacramento, the state capital, given that the Democrats control both chambers of state government with a super majority.
"Common sense doesn't prevail in Sacramento," he said. "There's a lot of things we do up there that I think alot of people think defy common sense."
Fox News Digital's Jackson Thompson contributed to this report.
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