In a move to champion transgender rights, the state Senate voted Monday to make it easier for people in New Jersey to change their birth certificates to reflect how they identify themselves.

The Senate also approved a bill that would require death certificates to reflect a person's gender identity.

State law does not permit people to change the gender on their birth certificates unless they have proof they have had sex reassignment surgery. But not all transgender people get the surgery. They may use hormone injections to suppress masculine or feminine traits, instead.

If signed into law by Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, the new law would require transgender people to sign a document provided by the state Health Department stating, "under penalty of perjury, the request for a change in gender -- to female, male, or undesignated/non-binary -- is made for the purpose of conforming with that person's gender identity and is not for any fraudulent purpose," according to the legislation.

Non-binary means a person does not identify as a male or a female.

Former Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, twice vetoed the bill during his eight years in office, citing concerns over fraud.

The Senate approved the measure by a 30-7 vote.

"New Jersey law needs to recognize current practices for gender transitioning, which include nonsurgical therapies, and must afford transgendered individuals the same broad protection of their rights as all citizens to have official identification that reflects their gender," said Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg D-Bergen, who sponsored the bill with Sen. Joseph Vitale D-Middlesex.

"From applying for travel documents or driver's licenses to school registration, a birth certificate is a necessary document and must be consistent with reality."

The financial impact of the transgender birth certificate bill, (S478) is expected to be small, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Office of Legislative Affairs.

New Jersey -- a state with 9 million people -- is home to about 30,100 people who are transgender, according to the analysis. Some might not wish to amend their birth certificates, while others who have had sex-reassignment surgery may have already done so.

Some of the cost associated with generating new birth certificates would be covered by the $27 in fees the Department of Health charges to issue an amended birth certificate.

The Senate also passed a bill by a 32-4 vote that would require death certificates to record the gender of people as they identified themselves.

The state would rely on the information from the person handling the funeral arrangements, "unless the person completing the death certificate is presented with a document that memorializes the decedent's gender transition," according to the bill, (S493).

Both bills must pass the state Assembly before they arrive at Murphy's desk.

Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.