BOISE, IDAHO — Idaho lawmakers are considering a bill that would make it a crime for transgender people to use bathrooms matching their gender identity in private businesses. The Republican-controlled Idaho Senate is expected to vote on the bill to determine whether to send it to Governor Brad Little's desk.

Under the proposed law, a first misdemeanor offense for entering a public facility designated for the opposite sex would carry up to one year in jail, and a second felony offense would carry up to five years in prison. The bill covers any "place of public accommodation," defined as any business or facility that serves the public.

No existing state law applies as broadly to private businesses as the Idaho bill. At least 19 states, including Idaho, have laws barring transgender people from using bathrooms and changing rooms that align with their gender identity in schools and in some other public places, according to Movement Advancement Project tracking.

"Protecting those spaces is a matter of safety and decency," said Republican Sen. Ben Toews. "Private spaces such as restrooms, changing areas and showers are sex-separated for a reason. Individuals in these vulnerable settings have a reasonable expectation of privacy and security," said Toews.

The Idaho Sheriff's Association asked lawmakers to require that people suspected of violating the law be asked to leave the bathroom before authorities are called, and lawmakers refused this request. The bill exempts athletic coaches, people responding to emergencies, people supervising inmates, custodians, people helping children who need bathroom assistance, and individuals in dire need when no other bathroom is reasonably available.

"How does one prove that one was going to poop on the floor?" said Heron Greenesmith, deputy policy director at Transgender Law Center, referring to the dire need exemption. "It is based on presence, and to justify that you have to accept that someone's presence alone is traumatizing and harmful enough to criminalize," said Nikson Matthews, a transgender man.

Florida, Kansas, and Utah have made it a criminal offense in some circumstances to violate transgender bathroom laws, according to Movement Advancement Project tracking. In Florida last year, a person was arrested on charges of violating transgender bathroom restrictions during a protest.

The Idaho Fraternal Order of Police and the Idaho Chiefs of Police Association oppose the bill, arguing it would require officers to visually determine a person's biological sex or level of dire need. The proposed bathroom law's maximum first-offense sentence is longer than Idaho's current maximum sentence for a first drunken driving conviction or for displaying offensive sexual material in public. President Donald Trump has prioritized expanding transgender bathroom restrictions and other related policies.