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The sponsor of Tennessee transgender bathroom sign law now says it has penalties

Rep. Tim Rudd said those who refuse to post signs could face up to six months in jail.
Credit: AP
FILE - In this April 15, 2019 file photo, Rep. Tim Rudd, R-Murfreesboro, speaks during a House session in Nashville, Tenn. Rudd, the sponsor of Tennessee’s new law requiring businesses and government facilities to post signs if they let transgender people access their preferred, multi-person public bathrooms now says those who refuse could face up to six months in jail. Rudd said this week that the misdemeanor penalty could apply. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The sponsor of Tennessee's new law requiring businesses and government facilities to post signs if they let transgender people use the bathrooms of their choice now says those who refuse could face up to six months in jail.

Rep. Tim Rudd said this week that the misdemeanor penalty could apply. 

That seems to contradict what he told fellow lawmakers in March, when he said his bill "does not provide any fines or penalties at this point" when a committee passed what would become the final version. 

He says he was telling the truth because the penalties weren't in the bill itself, but rather the existing building codes law. 

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