Text of US SB 2880 (2016)

II 114TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 2880 To prohibit, as an unfair and deceptive act or practice, commercial sexual orientation conversion therapy, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 28, 2016 Mrs. MURRAY (for herself, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. BROWN, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. MARKEY, Ms. CANTWELL, Ms. HIRONO, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. FRANKEN, Ms. WARREN, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mrs. BOXER, and Mr. CASEY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To prohibit, as an unfair and deceptive act or practice, commercial sexual orientation conversion therapy, and for other purposes. 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 ‘‘Therapeutic Fraud 4 Prevention Act of 2016’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds that— 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:28 May 04, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2880.IS S2880 emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2880 IS (1) being lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or 1 gender nonconforming is not a disorder, disease, ill- 2 ness, deficiency, or shortcoming; 3 (2) the national community of professionals in 4 education, social work, health, mental health, and 5 counseling has determined that there is no scientif- 6 ically valid evidence that supports the practice of at- 7 tempting to prevent a person from being lesbian, 8 gay, bisexual, transgender, or gender nonconforming; 9 (3) such professionals have determined that 10 there is no evidence that conversion therapy is effec- 11 tive or that an individual’s sexual orientation or gen- 12 der identity can be changed by conversion therapy; 13 (4) such professionals have also determined 14 that the potential risks of conversion therapy are not 15 only that it is ineffective, but also that it is substan- 16 tially dangerous to an individual’s mental and phys- 17 ical health, and has been shown to contribute to de- 18 pression, self-harm, low self-esteem, family rejection, 19 and suicide; and 20 (5) it is in the interest of the Nation to make 21 sure that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and 22 gender nonconforming people and their families are 23 not defrauded by persons seeking to profit by offer- 24 ing this harmful and wholly ineffective therapy. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:09 May 06, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2880.IS S2880 emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2880 IS SEC. 3. UNFAIR OR DECEPTIVE ACTS AND PRACTICES RE- 1 LATED TO CONVERSION THERAPY. 2 (a) UNLAWFUL CONDUCT.—It shall be unlawful for 3 any person— 4 (1) to provide conversion therapy to any indi- 5 vidual if such person receives monetary compensa- 6 tion in exchange for such services; or 7 (2) to advertise for the provision of conversion 8 therapy and claim in such advertising— 9 (A) to change another individual’s sexual 10 orientation or gender identity; 11 (B) to eliminate or reduce sexual or ro- 12 mantic attractions or feelings toward individ- 13 uals of the same gender; or 14 (C) that such efforts are harmless or with- 15 out risk to individuals receiving such therapy. 16 (b) ENFORCEMENT BY FEDERAL TRADE COMMIS- 17 SION.— 18 (1) VIOLATION OF RULE.—A violation of sub- 19 section (a) shall be treated as a violation of a rule 20 defining an unfair or deceptive act or practice pre- 21 scribed under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal 22 Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)). 23 (2) POWERS OF COMMISSION.— 24 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 25 enforce this section in the same manner, by the 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:28 May 04, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2880.IS S2880 emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2880 IS same means, and with the same jurisdiction, 1 powers, and duties as though all applicable 2 terms and provisions of the Federal Trade 3 Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) were in- 4 corporated into and made a part of this Act. 5 (B) PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES.—Any 6 person who violates this subsection (a) shall be 7 subject to the penalties and entitled to the 8 privileges and immunities provided in the Fed- 9 eral Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et 10 seq.). 11 (3) REGULATIONS.—The Commission may pro- 12 mulgate, in accordance with section 553 of title 5, 13 United States Code, such regulations as the Com- 14 mission considers appropriate to carry out this sec- 15 tion. 16 (c) ENFORCEMENT BY STATES.— 17 (1) IN GENERAL.—In any case in which the at- 18 torney general of a State has reason to believe that 19 an interest of the residents of the State has been or 20 is threatened or adversely affected by the engage- 21 ment of any person subject to subsection (a) in a 22 practice that violates such subsection, the attorney 23 general of the State may, as parens patriae, bring 24 a civil action on behalf of the residents of the State 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:28 May 04, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2880.IS S2880 emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS 5 •S 2880 IS in an appropriate district court of the United States 1 to obtain appropriate relief. 2 (2) RIGHTS OF FEDERAL TRADE COMMIS- 3 SION.— 4 (A) NOTICE TO FEDERAL TRADE COMMIS- 5 SION.— 6 (i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 7 in clause (iii), the attorney general of a 8 State shall notify the Federal Trade Com- 9 mission in writing that the attorney gen- 10 eral intends to bring a civil action under 11 paragraph (1) before initiating the civil ac- 12 tion. 13 (ii) CONTENTS.—The notification re- 14 quired by clause (i) with respect to a civil 15 action shall include a copy of the complaint 16 to be filed to initiate the civil action. 17 (iii) EXCEPTION.—If it is not feasible 18 for the attorney general of a State to pro- 19 vide the notification required by clause (i) 20 before initiating a civil action under para- 21 graph (1), the attorney general shall notify 22 the Commission immediately upon insti- 23 tuting the civil action. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:28 May 04, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2880.IS S2880 emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS 6 •S 2880 IS (B) INTERVENTION BY FEDERAL TRADE 1 COMMISSION.—The Commission may— 2 (i) intervene in any civil action 3 brought by the attorney general of a State 4 under paragraph (1); and 5 (ii) upon intervening— 6 (I) be heard on all matters aris- 7 ing in the civil action; and 8 (II) file petitions for appeal of a 9 decision in the civil action. 10 (3) INVESTIGATORY POWERS.—Nothing in this 11 subsection may be construed to prevent the attorney 12 general of a State from exercising the powers con- 13 ferred on the attorney general by the laws of the 14 State to conduct investigations, to administer oaths 15 or affirmations, or to compel the attendance of wit- 16 nesses or the production of documentary or other 17 evidence. 18 (4) PREEMPTIVE ACTION BY FEDERAL TRADE 19 COMMISSION.—If the Federal Trade Commission in- 20 stitutes a civil action or an administrative action 21 with respect to a violation of subsection (a), the at- 22 torney general of a State may not, during the pend- 23 ency of such action, bring a civil action under para- 24 graph (1) against any defendant named in the com- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:28 May 04, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2880.IS S2880 emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS 7 •S 2880 IS plaint of the Commission for the violation with re- 1 spect to which the Commission instituted such ac- 2 tion. 3 (5) VENUE; SERVICE OF PROCESS.— 4 (A) VENUE.—Any action brought under 5 paragraph (1) may be brought in— 6 (i) the district court of the United 7 States that meets applicable requirements 8 relating to venue under section 1391 of 9 title 28, United States Code; or 10 (ii) another court of competent juris- 11 diction. 12 (B) SERVICE OF PROCESS.—In an action 13 brought under paragraph (1), process may be 14 served in any district in which the defendant— 15 (i) is an inhabitant; 16 (ii) may be found; 17 (iii) transacts business; or 18 (iv) wherever venue is proper under 19 section 1391 of title 28, United States 20 Code. 21 (6) ACTIONS BY OTHER STATE OFFICIALS.— 22 (A) IN GENERAL.—In addition to civil ac- 23 tions brought by attorneys general under para- 24 graph (1), any other officer of a State who is 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:28 May 04, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2880.IS S2880 emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS 8 •S 2880 IS authorized by the State to do so may bring a 1 civil action under paragraph (1), subject to the 2 same requirements and limitations that apply 3 under this subsection to civil actions brought by 4 attorneys general. 5 (B) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this 6 subsection may be construed to prohibit an au- 7 thorized official of a State from initiating or 8 continuing any proceeding in a court of the 9 State for a violation of any civil or criminal law 10 of the State. 11 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 12 In this Act: 13 (1) CONVERSION THERAPY.—The term ‘‘conver- 14 sion therapy’’— 15 (A) means any practices or treatments by 16 any person that seek to change another individ- 17 ual’s sexual orientation or gender identity, in- 18 cluding efforts to change behaviors or gender 19 expressions, or to eliminate or reduce sexual or 20 romantic attractions or feelings toward individ- 21 uals of the same gender, if such person receives 22 monetary compensation in exchange for such 23 practices or treatments; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:28 May 04, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2880.IS S2880 emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS 9 •S 2880 IS (B) does not include practices or treat- 1 ments that— 2 (i) provide assistance to an individual 3 undergoing a gender transition; or 4 (ii) provide acceptance, support, and 5 understanding of a client or facilitation of 6 a client’s coping, social support, and iden- 7 tity exploration and development, including 8 sexual orientation-neutral interventions to 9 prevent or address unlawful conduct or un- 10 safe sexual practices, 11 if such practices or treatments do not seek to 12 change sexual orientation or gender identity. 13 (2) GENDER IDENTITY.—The term ‘‘gender 14 identity’’ means the gender-related identity, appear- 15 ance, mannerisms, or other gender-related character- 16 istics of an individual, regardless of the individual’s 17 designated sex at birth. 18 (3) SEXUAL ORIENTATION.—The term ‘‘sexual 19 orientation’’ means homosexuality, heterosexuality, 20 or bisexuality. 21 SEC. 5. SEVERABILITY. 22 If any provision of this Act, or the application of such 23 provision to any person or circumstance, is held to be un- 24 constitutional, the remainder of this Act, and its applica- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:28 May 04, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2880.IS S2880 emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS 10 •S 2880 IS tion to any person or circumstance shall not be affected 1 thereby. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:28 May 04, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S2880.IS S2880 emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS