Amendment #37 to H4643

Data Collection Relative to LGBTQ+ Health Equity

Ms. Montaño of Boston moves to amend the amendment by adding the following section:

SECTION X. Chapter 6A of the General Laws 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 and any other state agencies, offices or departments designated by the Governor that individuals, such as information collected through the Massachusetts Virtual Epidemiologic Network, and from individuals seeking services in the commonwealth, shall provide all persons providing such information or seeking such services who are at least 14 years old a way to provide voluntary demographic information through a program’s form documents or systems or through an anonymous survey that contains question(s) regarding sexual orientation and gender identity.

A default survey shall use the Massachusetts Health Equity Data Standards and its revisions.

(b) Not later than 180 days after the effective date of this section, the executive office of health and human services, in conjunction with existing LGBTQIA+ state agencies, commissions, departments and offices 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 answering the question(s) in a private space and filling out any paperwork without guidance from staff;

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

(iv) explaining to constituents how the data collected will be treated and used;

(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 question(s) 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 and gender identity. 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 an anonymous and voluntary demographics information survey as established by this section. Form identification and update procedures will continue.

(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, at a minimum, response option, agency and program. When data is available non-anonymously, one or more program outcomes shall be added to the disaggregation. Such data shall be made available to the public through the state’s website.

(e) Each office, agency and department that collects any of the data 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, and annually thereafter. 7. No information that is otherwise collected, maintained, handled or reported pursuant to this section shall be collected, maintained, handled or reported in a manner that would violate any applicable provision of federal, state or local law; federal, state or local policy; or federal, state or local standards relating to the privacy and confidentiality of information.

8. The executive office of education shall collect, maintain, handle and report on voluntarily provided sexual orientation and gender identity demographics pursuant to this section, provided, however, that when questioning individuals served in primary and secondary education programs, the executive office shall instead: (i) only collect sexual orientation and gender identity data and demographics anonymously; and (ii) ensure the sex/gender marker in student records or individual files includes the options M, F and X."

Additional co-sponsor(s) added to Amendment #37 to H4643

Data Collection Relative to LGBTQ+ Health Equity