STATE OF NEW JERSEY
219th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2020 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman JOANN DOWNEY
District 11 (Monmouth)
Assemblyman ANDREW ZWICKER
District 16 (Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset)
Assemblyman NICHOLAS CHIARAVALLOTI
District 31 (Hudson)
SYNOPSIS
Requires certain hospitals and healthcare facilities to collect patients’ gender and sexual orientation information.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning gender and sexual orientation and supplementing Title 26 of the Revised Statues.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The Commissioner of Health shall require a hospital or other health care facility licensed pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.) to collect gender and sexual orientation information from patients and include this information in patients’ electronic health records and other clinical records maintained by the hospital or facility, which information shall include, but shall not be limited to, how patients think of themselves in terms of their sexual orientation, patients’ current gender as well as the gender listed on patients’ birth certificates, and preferred pronouns used by patients to describe themselves.
b. Each vendor that sells, leases, or licenses for use an electronic health records system that is used by hospitals or other health care facilities in this State shall ensure the system is equipped to allow for the inclusion of gender and sexual orientation information pursuant to subsection a. of this section.
c. Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize the disclosure of any confidential information in violation of State or federal privacy laws or to require patients to disclose gender and sexual orientation information if they do not voluntarily choose to do so.
2. Pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), the Department Health may adopt rules and regulations necessary to effectuate the provisions of this act.
3. This act shall take effect 180 days after the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill requires certain hospitals and healthcare facilities to collect patients’ gender and sexual orientation information.
Under the bill, the Commissioner of Health is to require licensed hospitals and health care facilities to collect gender and sexual orientation information from patients and include this information in patients’ electronic and other clinical health records, which information is to include, but not be limited to, how patients think of themselves in terms of their sexual orientation, patients’ current gender as well as the gender listed on patients’ birth certificates, and preferred pronouns used by patients to describe themselves.
The bill provides that the Department Health may adopt rules and regulations necessary to effectuate the bill’s provisions.