Bill Text: NY A09428 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Requires the use of gender-neutral terms in law.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-05-31 - ordered to third reading rules cal.474 [A09428 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-A09428-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         9428--A

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                      March 7, 2022
                                       ___________

        Introduced by M. of A. KELLES -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on  Governmental  Operations  --  committee  discharged, bill amended,
          ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee

        AN ACT to amend the general construction law, in relation  to  requiring
          the use of gender-neutral terms in law

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Section 22 of the general construction  law,  as  added  by
     2  chapter 730 of the laws of 1981, is amended to read as follows:
     3    §  22.  Gender.  Whenever  words  of  the masculine or feminine gender
     4  appear in any law, rule or regulation, unless the sense of the  sentence
     5  indicates  otherwise,  they  shall  be  deemed to refer to [both male or
     6  female] persons of any gender. This construction shall apply  to  gender
     7  indicative  suffixes  or prefixes as well as to gender indicative words.
     8  Whenever the reference is to a corporation, board, body,  group,  organ-
     9  ization  or other entity comprising more than one person or to an assem-
    10  blage of persons or to  an  inanimate  object  the  reference  shall  be
    11  construed  to  be  neuter in gender.  Hereafter, in any law, rule, regu-
    12  lation, ordinance or resolution, gendered terms shall not  be  used  and
    13  gender-neutral  terms,  including  but not limited to "they", "them" and
    14  "theirs", shall be used in substitution therefor and with the same force
    15  and effect; provided, however, if such law, rule, regulation,  ordinance
    16  or  resolution is in reference to a specific person, the language refer-
    17  ring to such person shall be gendered  in  accordance  with  the  gender
    18  identity of such person.
    19    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.



         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD14329-02-2