L.L. 2016/128
Enactment date: 10/31/2016
Int. No. 552-A
By Council Members Dromm, Johnson, Menchaca, Mendez, Torres, Van Bramer, Chin, Constantinides, Lander, Levine, Cohen, Rodriguez, Vallone, Ferreras-Copeland, Koslowitz, Lancman, Rosenthal, Levin, Reynoso, Kallos, Cabrera, Miller, Richards, Rose, Vacca, Williams, Cumbo, Cornegy, Gentile, Palma, Crowley, Espinal, Maisel, Dickens, Barron, Ulrich and the Public Advocate (Ms. James)
A Local Law to amend the New York city charter, in relation to the collection of data regarding sexual orientation and gender identity
Be it enacted by the Council as follows:
Section 1. Legislative Findings. The Council finds that it is unclear how many individuals who identify themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) receive services from various New York City agencies. It is the intent of the Council, therefore, to ensure that City agencies capture this information and utilize it to tailor programs to best serve the LGBTQ community. Accordingly, the Council finds that it is necessary for City agencies to issue forms to capture data on individuals' sexual orientation and gender identity. Since gender identity alone is not always an indicator of whether a person is transgender, cisgender, or intersex, the Council also finds that such forms should include questions to this effect. Although the data collected by City agencies may not initially present a fully accurate representation of New York City's LGBTQ and gender non-conforming communities, over time the normalization of the collection of such data will lead to more accurate statistics regarding these communities. As the stigma against the LGBTQ community gradually erodes, evidenced by the fact that the U.S. Census began collecting data on married same-sex households in 2010, individuals are increasingly willing to identify themselves as LGBTQ.
* * *
[Consolidated provisions are not included in this Appendix A]
* * *
§ 3. This local law takes effect on the same date as a local law of the city of New York for the year 2016 amending the New York city charter relating to the collection of demographic data regarding ancestry and languages spoken, as proposed in introduction number 251-A, takes effect.