Text of US SB 1143 (2017)

II 115TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1143 To amend the Equal Credit Opportunity Act to prohibit discrimination on account of sexual orientation or gender identity when extending credit. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 17, 2017 Mrs. MURRAY (for herself, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. BOOKER, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. FRANKEN, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Ms. HASSAN, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. MERKLEY, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Ms. WARREN, and Mr. WYDEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To amend the Equal Credit Opportunity Act to prohibit discrimination on account of sexual orientation or gender identity when extending credit. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Freedom from Dis- 4 crimination in Credit Act of 2017’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:35 May 19, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1143.IS S1143 sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1143 IS SEC. 2. PROHIBITION AGAINST DISCRIMINATION ON AC- 1 COUNT OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION OR GEN- 2 DER IDENTITY. 3 Subsection (a)(1) of section 701 of the Equal Credit 4 Opportunity Act (15 U.S.C. 1691) is amended by insert- 5 ing ‘‘, sexual orientation, gender identity,’’ after ‘‘sex’’. 6 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 7 Section 702 of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (15 8 U.S.C. 1691a) is amended— 9 (1) by striking subsections (f) and (g); and 10 (2) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol- 11 lowing new subsections: 12 ‘‘(f) The term ‘gender identity’ means the gender-re- 13 lated identity, appearance, or mannerisms or other gen- 14 der-related characteristics of an individual, with or with- 15 out regard to the individual’s designated sex at birth. 16 ‘‘(g) The term ‘person’ means a natural person, a 17 corporation, government or governmental subdivision or 18 agency, trust, estate, partnership, cooperative, or associa- 19 tion. 20 ‘‘(h) The terms ‘race’, ‘color’, ‘religion’, ‘national ori- 21 gin’, ‘sex’, ‘sexual orientation’, ‘gender identity’, ‘marital 22 status’, or ‘age’, used with respect to an individual, in- 23 cludes— 24 ‘‘(1) the race, color, religion, national origin, 25 sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital sta- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:35 May 19, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1143.IS S1143 sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1143 IS tus, or age, respectively, of another person with 1 whom the individual is associated or has been associ- 2 ated; and 3 ‘‘(2) a perception or belief, even if inaccurate, 4 concerning the race, color, religion, national origin, 5 sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital sta- 6 tus, or age, respectively, of the individual. 7 ‘‘(i) The term ‘sex’ includes— 8 ‘‘(1) a sex stereotype; 9 ‘‘(2) pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical 10 condition; and 11 ‘‘(3) sexual orientation or gender identity. 12 ‘‘(j) The term ‘sexual orientation’ means homosex- 13 uality, heterosexuality, or bisexuality. 14 ‘‘(k) Any reference to any requirement imposed under 15 this title or any provision of this title shall be deemed to 16 include a reference to the regulations of the Bureau under 17 this title or the provision of this title in question.’’. 18 SEC. 4. RELATION TO STATE LAWS. 19 Section 705(a) of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act 20 (15 U.S.C. 1691d(a)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, sexual 21 orientation, gender identity,’’ after ‘‘sex’’. 22 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:35 May 19, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1143.IS S1143 sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with BILLS