Text of NJ SCR 167 (2019)

SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION No. 167 STATE OF NEW JERSEY 218th LEGISLATURE INTRODUCED MAY 30, 2019 Sponsored by: Senator TROY SINGLETON District 7 (Burlington) SYNOPSIS Condemns US Department of Housing and Urban Development rule proposal to weaken protections for homeless transgender persons. CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT As introduced. A Concurrent Resolution condemning United States Department of Housing and Urban Development rule proposal that would weaken protections for homeless transgender persons. Whereas, In 2012 the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development ("HUD") adopted a rule entitled "Equal Access to Housing in HUD Programs Regardless of Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity" ("Equal Access Rule"), which aimed to ensure that HUD's housing programs would be open to all eligible individuals and families regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status; and Whereas, The 2012 Equal Access Rule provided a limited exception in cases involving single-sex emergency shelters with shared sleeping areas or bathrooms; and Whereas, In 2016, HUD determined that the Equal Access Rule did not adequately address the significant barriers faced by transgender and gender nonconforming persons when accessing single-sex facilities, and adopted a rule to ensure an individual's access to HUD-funded single-sex emergency shelters with shared sleeping areas or bathrooms in accordance with the individual's gender identity; and Whereas, On May 22, 2019 HUD proposed a rule that permits shelter providers under HUD programs which permit single-sex or sex-segregated facilities to establish a policy, consistent with state and local law, by which a shelter provider may consider a person's sex for the purposes of determining accommodation within a shelter and for purposes of determining a person's sex for admission to a facility or part thereof; and Whereas, The May 2019 HUD rule proposal would permit shelter providers to consider a range of factors in determining an individual's sex, including privacy, safety, practical concerns, religious beliefs, an individual's sex as reflected in official government documents, and the gender which a person identifies with; and Whereas, By allowing a shelter provider to establish a policy for determining a person's gender "consistent with state and local law," the May 2019 HUD rule proposal would allow HUD-funded shelters in different states to develop different standards for accommodating transgender persons; and Whereas, The May 2019 HUD rule proposal would weaken the 2016 changes to the Equal Access Rule by allowing federally funded homeless shelters to deny admission to transgender persons on religious grounds or force transgender persons to share bathrooms and sleeping quarters in which they feel unsafe; and Whereas, According to the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey, an anonymous online survey of over 27,000 transgender adults, nearly 30 percent of survey respondents reported that they had been homeless at some point in their lives; and Whereas, As recently as 2016, HUD had found that transgender and gender nonconforming persons continue to experience significant violence, harassment, and discrimination in attempting to access programs, benefits, services, and accommodations; and Whereas, The May 2019 HUD rule proposal marks a significant departure from previous HUD policy, and, if implemented, would place transgender and gender nonconforming persons, who are among the most vulnerable members of society, at a heightened risk of homelessness; now, therefore, Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of New Jersey (the General Assembly concurring): 1. The Legislature condemns the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development proposed rule entitled "Revised Requirements Under Community Planning and Development Housing Programs," published by the Department of Housing and Urban Development in Spring 2019 (Docket No. FR-6152). 2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General Assembly or the Secretary of the Senate to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. STATEMENT This concurrent resolution condemns the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development ("HUD") proposed rule entitled "Revised Requirements Under Community Planning and Development Housing Programs," published by HUD in Spring 2019 (Docket No. FR-6152). If adopted, this rule would weaken protections for homeless transgender persons that HUD has previously developed. The current HUD "Equal Access Rule," 24 C.F.R. Part 5, ensures equal access to HUD-funded programs and shelters for an individual in accordance with the individual's gender identity. The current HUD Equal Access Rule defines "gender identity" as "the gender with which a person identifies, regardless of the sex assigned to that person at birth and regardless of the person's perceived gender identity. Perceived gender identity means the gender with which a person is perceived to identify based on that person's appearance, behavior, expression, other gender related characteristics, or sex assigned to the individual at birth or identified in documents." The current Equal Access Rule requires HUD-funded homeless shelter providers to establish admissions, occupancy, and operating policies that ensure: · equal access to programs, shelters, and accommodations to an individual in accordance with the individual's gender identity, and in a manner that affords equal access to the individual's family; · an individual is placed, served, and accommodated in accordance with the gender identity of the individual; and · an individual is not subjected to intrusive questioning or asked to provide anatomical information or documentary, physical, or medical evidence of the individual's gender identity. The current Equal Access Rule also requires providers of HUD-funded single-sex temporary emergency shelters that have shared sleeping areas or bathrooms to place and accommodate an individual in accordance with the individual's gender identity. The Spring 2019 HUD rule proposal would permit shelter providers under HUD programs, which permit single-sex or sex-segregated facilities, to establish a policy, consistent with state and local law, by which the provider may consider a person's sex for the purposes of determining: admission to a facility or part thereof, and accommodation within a facility. The HUD rule proposal would permit shelter providers to consider a range of factors in determining an individual's sex, including privacy, safety, practical concerns, religious beliefs, an individual's sex as reflected in official government documents, as well as the gender which a person identifies with. By allowing a shelter provider to establish a policy for determining a person's gender "consistent with state and local law," the Spring 2019 HUD rule proposal would allow HUD-funded shelters in different states to develop different standards for accommodating transgender persons. The HUD rule proposal would also allow federally funded homeless shelters to deny admission to transgender persons on religious grounds or force transgender persons to share bathrooms and sleeping quarters in which they feel unsafe.