Text of NJ A 4515 (2022)

ASSEMBLY, No. 4515 STATE OF NEW JERSEY 220th LEGISLATURE INTRODUCED SEPTEMBER 22, 2022 Sponsored by: Assemblyman HERB CONAWAY, JR. District 7 (Burlington) SYNOPSIS Requires State blanks, forms, documents, and applications to incorporate new standards for collection of information about sex, gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation. CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT As introduced. An Act concerning the collection of certain demographic data and supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes. Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey: 1. a. Notwithstanding the provisions of any law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, all blanks, forms, documents, and applications furnished to the public for official business by a State department, commission, committee, council, or agency shall be modernized to incorporate the following standards for the collection of information about an individual's sex, gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation: (1) Information about an individual's sex, gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation shall be collected in all instances where demographic data is collected; (2) As with the collection of other demographic data, the collection of information about an individual's sex, gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation shall be optional, and shall be clearly marked as such on each blank, form, document, or application requesting the demographic data, in order to inform each individual that any demographic data the individual provides is voluntary, and that services will not be withheld if the individual chooses not to provide the information; (3) Any questions relating to sex, gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation shall be posed in a manner that: (a) is sensitive to the individual, and that does not infringe upon or threaten the individual's mental and physical well-being; (b) allows for non-binary designations; and (c) is consistent with relevant best practices, as recognized by Garden State Equality and other relevant organizations that engage in advocacy on behalf of the State's lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning (LGBTQ+) communities; and (4) The authority to grant or refuse the disclosure of information concerning an individual's sex, gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation shall remain with the individual, or with the individual's parent or guardian, if the individual is a minor under the age of 18. No third party actor, including, but not limited to, a health care provider or a State employee or partner, shall have the agency to grant or refuse the disclosure of such information. b. If the State is required by a federal agency or other federal initiative to collect and report information related to an individual's sex, gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation, the State department, commission, committee, council, or agency responsible for collecting and reporting that information shall include, within its program rules, documentation verifying the applicable federal requirements before it will be authorized to include any questions related to sex, gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation on the forms, blanks, documents, or applications that it uses to comply with those federal requirements. c. The Secretary of State shall adopt rules and regulations, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this section. 2. This act shall take effect on the first day of the third month next following enactment, except that the Secretary of State may take anticipatory administrative action in advance of the effective date as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this act. STATEMENT This bill requires all blanks, forms, documents, and applications furnished to the public for official business by a State department, commission, committee, council, or agency to be modernized to incorporate new standards for the collection of information about an individual's sex, gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation. Specifically, the bill requires that information about an individual's sex, gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation be collected in all situations where other demographic data is collected, such as data concerning race and ethnicity. As with the collection of other demographic information, it will be optional for an individual to provide information about the individual's sex, gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation. Any blank, form, document, or application requesting information about an individual's sex, gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation is to be clearly marked in a manner that informs the individual that providing the information is optional, and that services will not be withheld if the individual chooses not to provide the information. The authority to grant or refuse the disclosure of information about an individual's sex, gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation remains with the individual, or with the individual's parent or guardian, if the individual is a minor under the age of 18, and no third party actor, including, but not limited to, a health care provider or a State employee or partner, will have the ability to grant or refuse the disclosure of such information. The bill requires that any questions relating to sex, gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation be posed in a manner that: 1) is sensitive to the individual, and that does not infringe upon or threaten the individual's mental and physical well-being; 2) allows for non-binary designations; and 3) is consistent with relevant best practices, as recognized by Garden State Equality and other relevant organizations that engage in advocacy on behalf of the State's lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning (LGBTQ+) communities. The bill further provides that, in cases where the State is required by a federal agency or other federal initiative to collect and report information related to a person's sex, gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation, the State department, commission, committee, council, or agency responsible for collecting and reporting that information will be required to include, within its program rules, documentation verifying the applicable federal requirements before it will be authorized to include any questions related to sex, gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation on the forms, blanks, documents, or applications that it uses to comply with those federal requirements. Most, if not all, State blanks, forms, documents, and applications currently use outmoded means of collecting information about sex and gender. Specifically, they often conflate the meanings of sex and gender, do not collect information concerning sexual orientation and gender identity, and do not allow individuals who exist outside of the historical male/female binary system to accurately document their gender identity. This is inconsistent with recent changes made to New Jersey birth certificates, which now allow for documentation of gender identity outside of a historical male/female binary system. It is the sponsor's belief that, by requiring all State forms and other documents to reflect a more modernized methodology for the collection of information on sex, gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation, the State will better serve New Jersey's sexual and gender minorities by gathering information critical to targeting government programs and public policy to address the needs of the LGBTQ+ community.