Transgender people will be able to permanently change the name and gender on their birth certificates under a bill given final approval by the Maryland General Assembly.
Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, has not take a public position on the bill, but the bill passed by veto-proof margins in both chambers.
The law will let transgender people obtain a completely new birth certificate that reflects their names and genders with relative ease. And in a departure from current practices, the new document will not be identified as amended.
Advocates considered the measure a matter of civil rights. The new certificate will not require a court order, as the current law does, and instead rely on a sworn statement from a health care practictioner.