Kirk A. Bado

USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee

The bathroom bill, at least for this session, is dead in the Senate.

Reintroduced by Sen. Mae Beavers, R-Mt.-Juliet, the controversial bill, which would have required students in public schools to use the bathroom corresponding with the sex listed on their birth certificate, failed to receive a proper motion from the members the Senate Education Committee on Wednesday, effectively killing it.

Opponents of the bill from the American Civil Liberties Union and LGBT Chamber of Commerce filled the committee room and held up signs in silent opposition to the bill, claiming it discriminates against transgender students and other members of the LGBT community.

When the bill was met with silence and dismissed by the committee, supporters let out happy gasps of surprise.

"It seems like we are making progress on teaching these legislators on what being transgender in Tennessee is like," said Henry Seaton, the LGBT organizer for the ACLU of Tennessee said. "I was very shocked, but very proud that they did not hear it."

When reached by telephone, Beavers said although she had no involvement in the committee’s decision, the move was hardly surprising.

The lack of action on the bill comes nearly one month after Lt. Gov. Randy McNally said the legislation was no longer necessary in light of the federal government’s recent actions.

In February, the Department of Justice and the Department of Education announced that their agencies were withdrawing a guidance advanced last year by the Obama administration that permitted students to use restrooms for the gender they identify with.

On Wednesday, McNally praised the "diligent work" of the Senate Education Committee.

"Due to President Trump's courageous action, the rationale for legislation no longer exists. The president's reversal of the Obama administration's overreaching cultural assault brings the issue back where it belongs: our local communities," McNally said.

The Oak Ridge Republican said the "unneeded legislation" would have resulted in litigation that would have put school bathroom policies in the hands of federal judges rather than those on the local level. "This issue is best addressed by those closest to the community. I'm thankful that Tennessee's attorney general, the Tennessee Department of Education and our Senate Education Committee agree,” he said.

Earlier in March, Beavers and her House counterpart Rep. Mark Pody, R-Lebanon, took their bills off notice for amendments to combat the $1 billion fiscal note.

The Wilson County Republicans also noted that President Donald Trump's administration would be friendlier to their legislation than the previous one.

Pody said he was disappointed by the Senate committee's action, saying they did not have the backbone to protect Tennessee's children.

"I'm disappointed in our state for not taking action on this bill," he said. He plans on discussing how to move forward with the House version of the bill with Beavers soon, but conceded it would be an uphill battle.

"I want to move forward with whatever we can to protect our children."

President of the Family Action Council of Tennessee (FACT) David Fowler echoed Pody's disappointment, saying in a statement that the committee insulted the values of thousands of Tennesseans.

"Today, nine members of the Tennessee Senate Education Committee, seven of whom voted for this same bill last year, decided that legislation on this topic did not even merit a motion or a second," his statement said.

Critics of the bill point to the potential dire fiscal impact of this legislation, pointing to the many businesses and conferences that divested from North Carolina after their state legislature passed a similar measure last year.

Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO of the LGBT advocacy group GLAAD, released a statement applauding the effort of the Education Committee and warned against other bills that "could permit open discrimination to the entire LGBTQ community."

“The Tennessee State Senate took an important step in stopping SB771, the ‘bathroom bill’ that would have caused public backlash, upended the state economy, and put the lives of transgender Tennesseans in jeopardy," her statement said.

The fate of this year’s version of the bathroom bill was decidedly quicker than one introduced in the legislature in 2016. A House committee voted in favor of that measure before the sponsor of the bill ended up halting it.

About a dozen states throughout the country, including Tennessee, have introduced so-called "bathroom bills" this year.

Joel Ebert contributed to this report.

Reach Kirk A. Bado on Twitter at @kirk_bado