Text of KY HB 321 (2020)

UNOFFICIAL COPY 20 RS BR 1419 Page 1 of 5 XXXX Jacketed AN ACT relating to public protection. 1 Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2 SECTION 1. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 438 IS CREATED TO 3 READ AS FOLLOWS: 4 (1) For the purposes of this section: 5 (a) "Advanced practice registered nurse" has the same meaning as in KRS 6 314.011; 7 (b) "Disorders of sex development" means congenital conditions in which the 8 development of chromosomal, gonadal, or anatomical sex is atypical, and 9 excludes gender dysphoria; 10 (c) "Gender dysphoria" means a person's persistent discomfort with his or her 11 sex as assigned at birth; 12 (d) "Medical professional" means any physician, physician assistant, 13 advanced practice registered nurse, nurse, nurse's aide, medical assistant, 14 or pharmacist licensed in this state; 15 (e) "Minor" means any person under the age of eighteen (18) who is not an 16 emancipated minor; 17 (f) "Nurse" has the same meaning as in KRS 314.011; 18 (g) "Physician" has the same meaning as in KRS 311.720; 19 (h) "Physician assistant" has the same meaning as in KRS 311.840; and 20 (i) "Puberty-blocking medication" means medication administered to suppress 21 the body's release of sex hormones during puberty; and 22 (j) "Sex" means the biological state of being female or male, based on sex 23 organs, chromosomes, and endogenous hormone profiles. 24 (2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, it shall be unlawful for any medical 25 professional to engage in or cause to be performed any of the following practices 26 upon a minor in order to facilitate the minor's desire to present or appear in a 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 20 RS BR 1419 Page 2 of 5 XXXX Jacketed manner that is inconsistent with the minor's sex: 1 (a) Performing surgery, including castration, vasectomy, hysterectomy, 2 oophorectomy, mastectomy, metoidioplasty, orchiectomy, penectomy, 3 phalloplasty, cliterodectomy, and vaginoplasty; 4 (b) Administering, prescribing, or supplying the following medications that 5 induce transient or permanent infertility: 6 1. Puberty-blocking medication to stop or delay normal puberty; 7 2. Supraphysiologic doses of testosterone or other androgens to members 8 of the female sex; or 9 3. Supraphysiologic doses of estrogen or synthetic compounds with 10 estrogenic activity to members of the male sex; or 11 (c) Removing any otherwise healthy or non-diseased body part or tissue. 12 (3) This section does not apply to the treatment of a minor born with a medically 13 verifiable genetic disorder of sexual development, including: 14 (a) A minor with external biological sex characteristics that are irresolvably 15 ambiguous, such as a minor born having forty-six (46) XX chromosomes 16 with virilization, forty-six (46) XY chromosomes with undervirilization, or 17 having both ovarian and testicular tissue; or 18 (b) When a medical professional has otherwise clinically diagnosed a disorder 19 of sexual development. 20 (4) (a) A medical professional who engages in or causes to be performed any of the 21 practices identified in subsection (2) of this section shall be considered to 22 have engaged in unprofessional conduct and shall be subject to revocation 23 of licensure and other appropriate discipline by the medical professional’s 24 licensing board. 25 (b) A medical professional who intentionally engages in or causes to be 26 performed any of the practices identified in subsection (2) of this section 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 20 RS BR 1419 Page 3 of 5 XXXX Jacketed shall be guilty of a Class D felony. 1 (c) 1. Any individual injured by any act in violation of the provisions of this 2 section shall have a civil cause of action in Circuit Court to enjoin 3 further violations, and for compensatory and punitive damages, court 4 costs, and reasonable attorney's fees. 5 2. Minors injured by practices prohibited under this section may bring 6 an action during their minority through a parent or next friend, or 7 may bring an action in their own name upon reaching majority at any 8 time from that point until twenty (20) years after reaching the age of 9 majority. 10 SECTION 2. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 405 IS CREATED TO 11 READ AS FOLLOWS: 12 (1) For the purposes of this section: 13 (a) "Gender dysphoria" means a person's persistent discomfort with his or her 14 sex as assigned at birth; 15 (b) "Government agent" means any employee, volunteer, or contractor of a 16 state agency, court, or school district; 17 (c) "Political subdivision" means any city, county, consolidated local 18 government, urban-county government, charter county government, or 19 unified local government and any divisions of those governments delegated 20 the right to exercise part of the sovereign power of that subdivision; and 21 (d) "Sex" means the biological state of being female or male, based on sex 22 organs, chromosomes, and endogenous hormone profiles. 23 (2) Parents or guardians, in exercising the fundamental right to care for their child, 24 may withhold consent for any activity designed and intended to form their child's 25 conceptions of sex or to treat gender dysphoria. The state, government agents, 26 and its political subdivisions shall not infringe upon the exercise of this right. 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 20 RS BR 1419 Page 4 of 5 XXXX Jacketed (3) (a) Except for law enforcement personnel in the course of an official 1 investigation, no government agent shall encourage or coerce a minor to 2 withhold information regarding the minor's gender dysphoria from the 3 minor's parents. Nor shall any government agent withhold from a minor's 4 parents information regarding the minor's gender dysphoria. Such conduct 5 shall be grounds for discipline of an employee, in addition to any other 6 remedies provided to a parent under this section. 7 (4) Any individual injured by any act in violation of the provisions of this section 8 shall have a civil cause of action in Circuit Court to enjoin further violations, and 9 for compensatory and punitive damages, court costs, and reasonable attorney's 10 fees. 11 SECTION 3. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 61 IS CREATED TO 12 READ AS FOLLOWS: 13 (1) As used in this section, unless the context requires otherwise: 14 (a) "Discrimination" means any direct or indirect act or practice of exclusion, 15 distinction, restriction, segregation, limitation, refusal, denial, or any other 16 act or practice of differentiation or preference in the treatment of a person 17 or persons, or the aiding, abetting, inciting, coercing, or compelling thereof; 18 (b) "Employee" means a person in the service of the Commonwealth of 19 Kentucky, or any of its political subdivisions, who is under contract of hire, 20 express or implied, oral or written, where the Commonwealth, or any of its 21 political subdivisions, has the power or right to control and direct the 22 material details of work performance; and 23 (c) "Employer" means the Commonwealth of Kentucky or any of its political 24 subdivisions. "Employer" also includes any person authorized to act on 25 behalf of the Commonwealth, or any of its political subdivisions, with 26 respect to formulation of policy or the supervision, in a managerial 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 20 RS BR 1419 Page 5 of 5 XXXX Jacketed capacity, of subordinate employees. 1 (2) No employer shall subject to reprisal or discriminate against, or use any official 2 authority or influence to cause reprisal or discrimination by others against, any 3 employee who publicly expresses an opinion regarding gender identity or gender 4 dysphoria. 5 (3) Any individual injured by any act in violation of this section shall have a civil 6 cause of action in Circuit Court to enjoin further violations, and for 7 compensatory and punitive damages, court costs, and reasonable attorney's fees. 8