OKLAHOMA CITY – Rep. Kevin West, R-Moore, today commented on a bill being sent to the governor that would require every Oklahoma birth certificate to contain an accurate biological sex designation of either male or female as identified at the time of birth.

House Bill 1225 clarifies that the biological sex listed on birth certificates at the time of birth is not to be amended to display gender identity or a nonbinary designation.

"The compelling interest for this legislation is to ensure the state has integrity and accuracy on the vital records it maintains," West said. "Birth certificates are used for many different purposes, including accurate identification of a person. It's important these documents reflect biological reality that cannot be changed regardless of how a person might wish to be identified otherwise."

Sen. Michael Bergstrom, R-Big Cabin, is the Senate author of HB1225 and the principal author of Senate Bill 1100, signed into law in 2022, which limited the biological sex designation on birth certificates to male or female.

"Oklahoma statutes have always held that on vital statistics documents there are two options for sex, male and female," Bergstrom said. "This legislation clarifies that position, clarifies that's the position always held by Oklahoma's Legislature, so moving forward no one can unintentionally or intentionally confuse this matter."

West said HB1225 is closely tied to House Joint Resolution 1032, which was approved by the governor in March. The resolution removed rules relating to driver's license and identification card renewal that were inherited by Service Oklahoma. The rules were implemented prior to the agency's existence.

"These rules did not have statutory authority to exist," West said.

He said the clarification in statute is needed after a previous bill signed into law in 2024 has been wrongly interpreted by some.

"The combination of these two measures close a perceived loophole that lawyers have used to argue that people can change their sex marker on their driver's license," West said. "This will ensure the accuracy of state records going forward."