LGBTQ Data Inclusion Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3509 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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 26, 2019 Mr. GRIJALVA (for himself, Mr. AGUILAR, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. CA´RDENAS, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Mr. CISNEROS, Mr. CLAY, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. CRIST, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. DEFAZIO, Ms. DEGETTE, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. DEUTCH, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Ms. FRANKEL, Mr. GALLEGO, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Mr. HECK, Mr. HIGGINS of New York, Ms. HILL of California, Mr. HIMES, Mr. HUFFMAN, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. KEATING, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. KILMER, Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire, Mr. LAN- GEVIN, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. LEE of California, Mrs. LEE of Nevada, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. LUJA´N, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. MOORE, Mr. MOULTON, Ms. MUCARSEL-POWELL, Mr. NADLER, Ms. MENG, Ms. NORTON, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. PETERS, Mr. POCAN, Mr. RASKIN, Miss RICE of New York, Mr. ROUDA, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. SERRANO, Ms. SHALALA, Ms. SHERRILL, Mr. SIRES, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Ms. SPEIER, Mr. SWALWELL of California, Mr. TAKANO, Ms. TITUS, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. WELCH, Mr. LEVIN of Michigan, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. BROWN of Maryland, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Ms. LOFGREN, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, and Mr. YAR- MUTH) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform A BILL To improve Federal population surveys by requiring the col- VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:23 Jul 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H3509.IH H3509 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 3509 IH 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 SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT TO COLLECT DATA ON SEXUAL ORI- 6 ENTATION AND GENDER IDENTITY. 7 (a) SURVEY REQUIREMENT.—Any agency that col- 8 lects information through a survey that includes demo- 9 graphic data where subjects either self-report information 10 or a knowledgeable proxy provides information about the 11 subject or responds for all persons in a household shall, 12 not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment 13 of this Act, establish data standards that require, with re- 14 gard to such a survey the following: 15 (1) REVIEW.—The review of existing data sets 16 to determine in which data sets information about 17 sexual orientation and gender identity is not in- 18 cluded. 19 (2) METHODS.—An identification of appro- 20 priate methods to include questions on sexual ori- 21 entation and gender identity in surveys that facili- 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:23 Jul 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3509.IH H3509 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 3509 IH tate categorization, voluntary participation, and pre- 1 serve privacy and confidentiality. 2 (3) DATA COLLECTION.—The use of the appro- 3 priate methods identified in paragraph (2) to gather 4 data on sexual orientation and gender identity. 5 (4) ASSESSMENT.—The implementation of a 6 process to routinely assess needed changes in survey 7 methods related to asking questions on sexual ori- 8 entation and gender identity. 9 (b) DATA REPORTS.—Any report published by an 10 agency that relies on survey demographic data shall in- 11 clude information on sexual orientation and gender iden- 12 tity. 13 (c) CONFIDENTIALITY.—Any information collected 14 relating to the sexual orientation or gender identity of a 15 survey participant shall be maintained in accordance with 16 the confidentiality and privacy standards and policies for 17 the protection of individuals applicable to that survey. 18 (d) APPLICABILITY.— 19 (1) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act shall 20 be construed to require an individual to disclose 21 their sexual orientation or gender identity to an 22 agency. 23 (2) EXEMPTION FROM PENALTY.—An indi- 24 vidual shall not be subject to any fine or other pen- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:23 Jul 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3509.IH H3509 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 3509 IH alty for refusing to answer, or providing a false an- 1 swer to, any survey question regarding gender iden- 2 tity or sexual orientation, including any fine or pen- 3 alty under subchapter II of chapter 7 of title 13, 4 United States Code. 5 (e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec- 6 tion shall be construed to permit the use of information 7 collected under this section in a manner that would ad- 8 versely affect any individual. 9 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 10 (1) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ has the 11 meaning given that term in section 551 of title 5, 12 United States Code. 13 (2) DEMOGRAPHIC DATA.—The term ‘‘demo- 14 graphic data’’ means information about the race or 15 ethnicity, sex, and age of a survey participant or 16 population. 17 (3) GENDER IDENTITY.—The term ‘‘gender 18 identity’’ means an individual’s sense of being male, 19 female, transgender, or another gender, as distinct 20 from the individual’s sex assigned at birth. 21 (4) SEXUAL ORIENTATION.—The term ‘‘sexual 22 orientation’’ means how a person identifies in terms 23 of their emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:23 Jul 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3509.IH H3509 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 3509 IH and includes identification as straight, heterosexual, 1 gay, lesbian, or bisexual, among other terms. 2 (5) SURVEY.—The term ‘‘survey’’ means a data 3 collection activity involving observation or question- 4 naires for a sample of a population and includes the 5 decennial census. 6 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:23 Jul 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3509.IH H3509 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS