SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2064        FILED ON: 1/20/2023

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1358

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Julian Cyr

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act relative to LGBTQ health equity.

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PETITION OF:

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2064        FILED ON: 1/20/2023

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1358

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_______________

In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)

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An Act relative to LGBTQ health equity.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. Chapter 6A of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition is hereby amended after section 16AA by inserting the following new section:-

Section 16AA ½. (a) The Executive Office of Health and Human Services, the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, the Executive Office of Education, and any other state agencies, offices, or departments designated by the Governor that directly or by contract collect demographic information via form documents or systems from commonwealth residents, such as information collected through the Massachusetts Virtual Epidemiologic Network, and from commonwealth residents seeking services, shall provide all persons providing such information or seeking such services who are either at least 14 years old or identify as the heads of their own households with a standardized, anonymous and voluntary demographics information survey that contains questions regarding sexual orientation, including heterosexual, lesbian, gay, bisexual or asexual status or other, with an option to write in a response and gender identity, including transgender, cisgender or intersex status or other, with an option to write in a response.

The survey shall be created by the Executive Office of Health and Human Services and may be updated as deemed necessary based on changing demographics.

(b) Not later than 180 days after the effective date of this section, the Executive Office of Health and Human Services shall submit to the legislature a plan to provide a mandatory training program and develop a manual for agency staff on how to invite persons served by state agencies to complete the survey. Such training and manual shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

(i) an overview of the categories of sexual orientation and gender identity;

(ii) providing constituents the option of completing the survey in a private space and filling out any paperwork without guidance from staff;

(iii) explaining to constituents that completing the survey is voluntary; 

(iv) explaining to constituents that any data collected from such survey will not be connected to the individual specifically; and 

(v) discussions regarding addressing constituents by their self-identified gender.

(c) Not later than 180 days after the effective date of this section, and annually thereafter, the offices, agencies, and departments described in paragraph a, and any other agencies so designated by the Governor, shall conduct an internal review and provide a report of all forms and systems being used that: collect demographic information addressing the questions contained on the survey, are completed by persons seeking services, and contain content or language in relation to collecting such information that is within the administering agency’s authority to edit or amend. The report shall include a list of all forms and systems reviewed, all forms and systems eligible for updating, an explanation of why any forms or systems are not eligible for updating, and a list of forms and systems to be updated. When practicable, when such forms are updated they shall request voluntary responses to questions about sexual orientation, including heterosexual, lesbian, gay, bisexual or asexual status, or other, and gender identity, including transgender, cisgender and intersex status or other. All forms identified as eligible for updating during the review required pursuant to this paragraph shall be updated to invite responses to questions about sexual orientation and gender identity no later than five years from the effective date of this section. All forms not eligible for updating shall be provided in conjunction with the standardized, anonymous and voluntary demographics information survey as established by this section.

(d) Not later than 18 months after the effective date of this section, and annually thereafter,  the offices, agencies, and departments described in paragraph a, and any other agencies so designated by the Governor shall make available to the public data for the prior fiscal year that includes, but is not limited to, the total number of individuals who have identified their sexual orientation or gender identity on the survey form described in paragraph (a) of this section and any forms and systems updated pursuant to paragraph (c) of this section, disaggregated by response option, agency and program. Such data shall be made available to the public through the state’s website.

(e) Each office, agency, and department that provides the survey form required pursuant to paragraph a of this section shall evaluate its provision of services in consideration of the data collected pursuant to this section and shall publish a report on any new or modified services developed based on such data.  Such reports shall be submitted no earlier than 18 months after passage.

7. No information that is otherwise required to be reported pursuant to this section shall be reported in a manner that would violate any applicable provision of federal, state or local law relating to the privacy of information respecting students and families serviced by Massachusetts public schools.