SB 189 — An Act providing for the use of a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer identifier in all Commonwealth agency or entity blanks, forms, documents and applications; and imposing penalties.

PRINTER'S NO.   139

                   THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA



                        SENATE BILL
                        No. 189
                                               Session of
                                                 2025

     INTRODUCED BY STREET, COMITTA, KEARNEY, TARTAGLIONE, COSTA,
        HAYWOOD, KANE, COLLETT AND SAVAL, JANUARY 29, 2025

     REFERRED TO STATE GOVERNMENT, JANUARY 29, 2025


                                   AN ACT
 1   Providing for the use of a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender
 2      and queer identifier in all Commonwealth agency or entity
 3      blanks, forms, documents and applications; and imposing
 4      penalties.
 5      The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
 6   hereby enacts as follows:
 7   Section 1.   Short title.
 8      This act shall be known and may be cited as the Data for
 9   LGBTQ Lives Act.
10   Section 2.   Definitions.
11      The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
12   have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
13   context clearly indicates otherwise:
14      "Commission."   The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission.
15      "Commonwealth agency or entity."    An agency, department,
16   office, board or commission of the Commonwealth. The term does
17   not include a legislative agency, judicial agency, State-
18   affiliated entity or State-related institution.
19      "Judicial agency."   A court of the Commonwealth or any other
 1   entity or office of the unified judicial system.
 2      "Legislative agency."      Any of the following:
 3          (1)    The Senate.
 4          (2)    The House of Representatives.
 5          (3)    The Capitol Preservation Committee.
 6          (4)    The Center for Rural Pennsylvania.
 7          (5)    The Joint Legislative Air and Water Pollution
 8      Control and Conservation Committee.
 9          (6)    The Joint State Government Commission.
10          (7)    The Independent Regulatory Review Commission.
11          (8)    The Legislative Audit Advisory Commission.
12          (9)    The Legislative Budget and Finance Committee.
13          (10)     The Legislative Data Processing Committee.
14          (11)     The Legislative Office for Research Liaison.
15          (12)     The Legislative Reapportionment Commission.
16          (13)     The Legislative Reference Bureau.
17          (14)     The Local Government Commission.
18          (15)     The Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing.
19      "LGBTQ."   Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer.
20      "LGBTQ identifier."      A question that allows an individual to
21   identify as LGBTQ.
22      "State-affiliated entity."      A Commonwealth authority or
23   Commonwealth entity, including any of the following:
24          (1)    The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.
25          (2)    The Pennsylvania Game Commission.
26          (3)    The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.
27          (4)    The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency.
28          (5)    The Pennsylvania Higher Educational Facilities
29      Authority.
30          (6)    The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency.

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 1            (7)    The Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment
 2      Authority.
 3            (8)    The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic
 4      Association.
 5            (9)    The Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement Board.
 6            (10)    The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.
 7            (11)    The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission.
 8            (12)    The State Public School Building Authority.
 9            (13)    The State System of Higher Education.
10            (14)    A community college.
11      "State-related institution."       Any of the following:
12            (1)    Lincoln University.
13            (2)    Temple University.
14            (3)    The Pennsylvania State University.
15            (4)    The University of Pittsburgh.
16   Section 3.      LGBTQ identifier for Commonwealth agency or entity
17                   blanks, forms, documents and applications.
18      (a)   Duty to include.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
19   law, no later than 30 days after the effective date of this
20   section, a Commonwealth agency or entity shall include an LGBTQ
21   identifier on all blanks, forms, documents and applications
22   furnished to the public for the official business of the
23   Commonwealth agency or entity.
24      (b)   Collection.--A Commonwealth agency or entity may only
25   collect information about an individual's LGBTQ status if the
26   information is necessary for the health and well-being of the
27   individual seeking the service or benefit from the Commonwealth
28   agency or entity or seeking to attain or maintain employment
29   with the Commonwealth agency or entity.
30      (c)   Option not to answer.--A Commonwealth agency or entity

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 1   shall ensure that an individual or an individual's guardian has
 2   the option not to answer an LGBTQ identifier on all blanks,
 3   forms, documents and applications in a clear and conspicuous
 4   manner. A third party, including a health care provider or State
 5   employee, may not act on behalf of an individual for the purpose
 6   of opting not to answer an LGBTQ identifier. A Commonwealth
 7   agency or entity shall include the option not to answer an LGBTQ
 8   identifier on all blanks, forms, documents and applications in
 9   substantially the following form:
10            You are not required to answer the LGBTQ identifier as a
11            condition of receiving a service or benefit from the
12            Commonwealth agency or entity or attaining or maintaining
13            employment with the Commonwealth agency or entity. The
14            Commonwealth agency or entity may not disclose your
15            answer to the LGBTQ identifier to the public in a manner
16            that will identify your personal information, including
17            your name, age, residence address, family members or
18            other similar information. The Commonwealth agency or
19            entity may not use your answer to the LGBTQ identifier as
20            the basis to discriminate against you regarding the
21            provision of a service or benefit from the Commonwealth
22            agency or entity or attaining or maintaining employment
23            with the Commonwealth agency or entity.
24      (d)   Form.--A Commonwealth agency or entity shall design an
25   LGBTQ identifier as follows:
26            (1)   The LGBTQ identifier may not infringe or threaten to
27      infringe on an individual's mental or physical well-being.
28            (2)   The LGBTQ identifier shall include a designation for
29      nonbinary individuals.
30            (3)   The LGBTQ identifier shall be consistent with the

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 1      best practices of organizations that engage in advocacy on
 2      behalf of LGBTQ communities in this Commonwealth.
 3   Section 4.     Administration and reports.
 4      (a)   Prohibited acts.--
 5            (1)   A Commonwealth agency or entity may not require that
 6      an individual answer an LGBTQ identifier as a condition of
 7      receiving a benefit or service from the Commonwealth agency
 8      or entity or attaining or maintaining employment with the
 9      Commonwealth agency or entity.
10            (2)   A Commonwealth agency or entity may not disclose an
11      answer to an LGBTQ identifier to the public in a manner that
12      will identify the personal information of an individual.
13            (3)   A Commonwealth agency or entity may not use an
14      answer to an LGBTQ identifier as the basis to discriminate
15      against an individual regarding the provision of a service or
16      benefit from the Commonwealth agency or entity or attaining
17      or maintaining employment with the Commonwealth agency or
18      entity.
19      (b)   Reports.--No later than one year after the effective
20   date of this section and each year thereafter, a Commonwealth
21   agency or entity shall submit a report to the commission. The
22   report shall include all of the following information:
23            (1)   The percentage of individuals who answered in the
24      affirmative to an LGBTQ identifier during the prior year.
25            (2)   The percentage of individuals who answered in the
26      negative to an LGBTQ identifier during the prior year.
27            (3)   The percentage of individuals who opted not to
28      answer an LGBTQ identifier during the prior year.
29            (4)   Any other information required by the commission to
30      assess the percentage of individuals who identify as LGBTQ.

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1   Section 5.   Penalties.
2      A person who violates this act shall be subject to the
3   enforcement and penalty provisions specified under the act of
4   October 27, 1955 (P.L.744, No.222), known as the Pennsylvania
5   Human Relations Act.
6   Section 6.   Effective date.
7      This act shall take effect in 60 days.




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