Text of US SB 3318 (2023)

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 3318 To prohibit the use of funds to implement, administer, or enforce measures requiring certain employees to refer to an individual by the preferred pronouns of such individual or a name other than the legal name of such individual, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES NOVEMBER 15, 2023 Mr. CRUZ introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs A BILL To prohibit the use of funds to implement, administer, or enforce measures requiring certain employees to refer to an individual by the preferred pronouns of such indi- vidual or a name other than the legal name of such individual, 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 ‘‘Safeguarding Honest 4 Speech Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:07 Nov 21, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3318.IS S3318 ssavage on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3318 IS SEC. 2. NO FEDERAL FUNDS FOR COMPELLED LANGUAGE. 1 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi- 2 sion of law, no Federal funds may be used for the purpose 3 of implementing, administering, or enforcing any rule, pol- 4 icy, guidance, recommendation, or memorandum requiring 5 an employee or contractor of any Federal agency or De- 6 partment to use— 7 (1) another person’s preferred pronouns if they 8 are incompatible with such person’s sex; or 9 (2) a name other than a person’s legal name 10 when referring to such person. 11 (b) ENFORCEMENT.— 12 (1) IN GENERAL.—All Federal agencies and 13 Departments shall ensure that, not later than 30 14 days following a written notice from any employee or 15 contractor described in subsection (a) regarding an 16 alleged violation of subsection (a), a formal response 17 to the notice is issued to the employee or contractor. 18 (2) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.—In the case 19 that the formal response issued under paragraph (1) 20 does not represent a satisfactory outcome for the 21 employee or contractor, any employee or contractor 22 described in subsection (a) and aggrieved by a viola- 23 tion of subsection (a) may commence a civil action 24 against the Federal agency or Department respon- 25 sible for the alleged violation. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:07 Nov 21, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3318.IS S3318 ssavage on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3318 IS (3) RELIEF.—In any action under this sub- 1 section, the court may award appropriate relief, in- 2 cluding— 3 (A) temporary, preliminary, or permanent 4 injunctive relief; 5 (B) compensatory damages; 6 (C) punitive or exemplary damages, which 7 may not exceed $100,000; and 8 (D) reasonable fees for attorneys. 9 (4) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—An action 10 under this subsection shall be brought not later than 11 1 year after the date on which the alleged violation 12 of subsection (a) occurred. 13 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 14 (1) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means an in- 15 dividual. 16 (2) SEX.—The term ‘‘sex’’ means sex recog- 17 nized based solely on a person’s reproductive biology 18 and genetics at birth. 19 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:07 Nov 21, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S3318.IS S3318 ssavage on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS