A bill due to be introduced into the Alabama Senate in February is calling for the introduction of attendants in mixed-gender public bathrooms to guard against possible crimes such as molestation, assault and battery.

Along with seven other state legislatures, the bill will attempt to restrict bathroom access, continuing the nationwide debate on transgender rights that first came to prominence in March 2016 when North Carolina passed a law that forced Individuals to use restrooms and changing facilities that corresponded with the sex listed on their birth certificates.

The bill, which will be known as the Alabama Privacy Act if passed, outlines several new rules to protect the physical and emotional security of those using the bathrooms, according to the bill that was introduced by Sen. Phil Williams (R) and will be voted on by the Alabama judiciary committee next month.

The law states that "bathroom, or changing facilities that are designed to be used by multiple persons" must either be exclusively for "persons of the same gender," or open to people "irrespective of their gender" with attendants present.

It requires: "Bathroom, or changing facilities that are designed to be used by multiple persons at once, irrespective of their gender, that are staffed by an attendant stationed at the door of each rest room to monitor the appropriate use of the rest room and answer any questions or concerns posed by users."

Any public institution that leaves bathrooms unattended could be hit with fines ranging from $2,000 to $3,500 and leave themselves open to being sued, according to the bill.

Similar laws are being prepared in Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Texas and Virginia, while Alabama, South Carolina and Washington filed bills last year for introduction in the upcoming 2017 session.

The bills come after the Obama administration issued guidance in May last year directing schools to allow transgender students to use bathrooms of their choosing. Guidelines asked that "transgender students enjoy a supportive and nondiscriminatory school environment."

However, a ruling by a federal judge in Texas last October placed a roadblock on Obama's guidance. U.S. District Court Judge Reed O'Connor had originally placed nationwide injunction banning the administration's bathroom enforcement in August, but made minor changes to the ruling after Justice Department requested that he limit the ban to 13 states that were opposed to the government's guidance. The Wichita Falls-based judge said that he had legal authority allowing him to halt the administration's policy across the country.

"It is clear from Supreme Court and Fifth Circuit precedent that this Court has the power to issue a nationwide injunction where appropriate. Both Title IX and Title VII rely on the consistent, uniform application of national standards in education and workplace policy. A nationwide injunction is necessary because the alleged violation extends nationwide," O'Connor wrote. "Should the Court only limit the injunction to the plaintiff states who are a party to this cause of action, the Court risks a 'substantial likelihood that a geographically-limited injunction would be ineffective.'"

O'Connor conceded that his ruling would unlikely make a difference in states that did not require gender separation.

Correction: Sen. Phil Williams introduced the bill. An earlier version of this story listed Rep. Phil Williams. The story and photo were corrected at 5:40 p.m.