LGBTQ Data Inclusion Act

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2287 To improve Federal population surveys by requiring the collection of vol- untary, self-disclosed information on sexual orientation and gender iden- tity in certain surveys, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 24, 2021 Ms. BALDWIN (for herself, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Mr. MAR- KEY, Ms. HIRONO, Ms. SMITH, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. KAINE, and Ms. ROSEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Govern- mental Affairs A BILL To improve Federal population surveys by requiring the col- lection of voluntary, self-disclosed information on sexual orientation and gender identity in certain surveys, 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 ‘‘LGBTQ Data Inclu- 4 sion Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:28 Jul 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2287.IS S2287 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2287 IS SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT TO COLLECT DATA ON SEXUAL ORI- 1 ENTATION AND GENDER IDENTITY. 2 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 3 (1) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ has the 4 meaning given the term in section 551 of title 5, 5 United States Code. 6 (2) DEMOGRAPHIC DATA.—The term ‘‘demo- 7 graphic data’’ means information about the race or 8 ethnicity, sex, and age of a survey participant or 9 population. 10 (3) GENDER IDENTITY.—The term ‘‘gender 11 identity’’ means an individual’s sense of being male, 12 female, transgender, or another gender, as distinct 13 from the individual’s sex assigned at birth. 14 (4) SEXUAL ORIENTATION.—The term ‘‘sexual 15 orientation’’— 16 (A) means how a person identifies in terms 17 of their emotional, romantic, or sexual attrac- 18 tions; and 19 (B) includes identification as straight, het- 20 erosexual, gay, lesbian, or bisexual, among 21 other terms. 22 (5) SURVEY.—The term ‘‘survey’’— 23 (A) means a data collection activity involv- 24 ing observation or questionnaires for a sample 25 of a population; and 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:28 Jul 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2287.IS S2287 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2287 IS (B) includes the decennial census. 1 (b) SURVEY REQUIREMENT.—Any agency that col- 2 lects information through a survey that includes demo- 3 graphic data where subjects either self-report information 4 or a knowledgeable proxy provides information about the 5 subject or responds for all persons in a household shall, 6 not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of 7 this Act, establish data standards that require, with re- 8 gard to such a survey, the following: 9 (1) REVIEW.—The review of existing data sets 10 to determine in which data sets information about 11 sexual orientation and gender identity is not in- 12 cluded. 13 (2) METHODS.—An identification of appro- 14 priate methods to include questions on sexual ori- 15 entation and gender identity in surveys that facili- 16 tate categorization, voluntary participation, and pre- 17 serve privacy and confidentiality. 18 (3) DATA COLLECTION.—The use of the appro- 19 priate methods identified in paragraph (2) to gather 20 data on sexual orientation and gender identity. 21 (4) ASSESSMENT.—The implementation of a 22 process to routinely assess needed changes in survey 23 methods related to asking questions on sexual ori- 24 entation and gender identity. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:28 Jul 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2287.IS S2287 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2287 IS (c) DATA REPORTS.—Any report published by an 1 agency that relies on survey demographic data shall in- 2 clude information on sexual orientation and gender iden- 3 tity. 4 (d) CONFIDENTIALITY.—Any information collected 5 relating to the sexual orientation or gender identity of a 6 survey participant shall be maintained in accordance with 7 the confidentiality and privacy standards and policies for 8 the protection of individuals applicable to that survey. 9 (e) APPLICABILITY.— 10 (1) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act shall 11 be construed to require an individual to disclose 12 their sexual orientation or gender identity to an 13 agency. 14 (2) EXEMPTION FROM PENALTY.—An indi- 15 vidual shall not be subject to any fine or other pen- 16 alty for refusing to answer, or providing a false an- 17 swer to, any survey question regarding gender iden- 18 tity or sexual orientation, including any fine or pen- 19 alty under subchapter II of chapter 7 of title 13, 20 United States Code. 21 (f) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec- 22 tion shall be construed to permit the use of information 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:28 Jul 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2287.IS S2287 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 2287 IS collected under this section in a manner that would ad- 1 versely affect any individual. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:28 Jul 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S2287.IS S2287 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS