Measures to prevent anti-transgender discrimination in health care and schools advanced in New Jersey last week and await Gov. Chris Christie’s signature before becoming law.
Democratic Sens. Teresa Ruiz and Joseph Vitale serve as primary sponsors for both bills. Christie spokesperson Brian T. Murray told PGN, “This office has had a long-standing, general policy of not discussing proposed legislation until a final bill is delivered to our offices and we have had ample time to thorough [sic] review it.”
Senate Bill 3017 would prohibit “health insurers, [State Health Benefits Program], [School Employees Health Benefits Program], University Correctional Health Care and Medicaid from discriminating in providing coverage and services based on gender identity.” It passed the Senate unanimously June 29 in a 31-0 vote; it previously was passed by the Assembly. The bill would prevent insurers from designating gender identity as a pre-existing condition and from limiting access to gender-transition services. Democrat Sen. Shirley Turner and Republican Sen. Jennifer Beck are cosponsors.
“While we will still need to fight to ensure that self-funded plans, including municipal and county health plans, stop discriminating, transgender people will remain covered or gain coverage for transition-related care in much of the marketplace — provided of course that Gov. Christie signs this important legislation into law,” Garden State Equality Executive Director Christian Fuscarino said in a statement.
Meanwhile, a separate bill requiring the “Commissioner of Education to develop guidelines for school districts regarding transgender students” passed the Assembly June 29, 10 days after advancing through the Senate. The bill would allow students to dress according to their gender identity, have school identification documents that match their gender identity and participate in physical-education classes with the gender matching their identity. Additionally, it would ensure school personnel would follow confidentiality protocols for students’ transgender or transition status. The bill was sponsored by seven additional Democratic Assemblymembers.
“This guidance will be extremely beneficial to school districts in helping them to develop a policy and plan for transgender, transitioning, and gender creative youth and their families,” Fuscarino said. “However, it is important to note that the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination already mandates that access to sex-segregated facilities is determined on the basis of gender identity, not sex assigned at birth. This is true in all places of public accommodation, including public schools.”