Bill Text: NY S08074 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Makes technical corrections to a provision requiring the use of gender-neutral terms in law.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2)

Status: (Passed) 2024-02-13 - SIGNED CHAP.88 [S08074 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S08074-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          8074

                    IN SENATE

                                     January 5, 2024
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen. KRUEGER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules

        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 amended by a
     2  chapter of the laws of 2023 amending the general construction law relat-
     3  ing to requiring the use of gender-neutral terms in law, as proposed  in
     4  legislative  bills  numbers  S.  155  and A. 1142, is amended to read as
     5  follows:
     6    § 22. Gender. Whenever words  of  the  masculine  or  feminine  gender
     7  appear in any law, rule [or], regulation, or resolution unless the sense
     8  of  the  sentence  indicates otherwise, they shall be deemed to refer to
     9  persons of any gender. This construction shall apply  to  gender  indic-
    10  ative  suffixes or prefixes as well as to gender indicative words. When-
    11  ever the reference is to a corporation, board, body, group, organization
    12  or other entity comprising more than one person or to an  assemblage  of
    13  persons or to an inanimate object the reference shall be construed to be
    14  [neuter]  neutral  in gender.   Hereafter, in any law, rule, regulation,
    15  [ordinance] or resolution, gendered terms shall not be used and  gender-
    16  neutral terms, including but not limited to "they", "them" and "theirs",
    17  shall  be  used  in  substitution  therefor  and with the same force and
    18  effect; provided, however, if any such  law,  rule,  regulation,  [ordi-
    19  nance]  or resolution is in reference to a specific person, the language
    20  referring to such person shall be gendered in accordance with the gender
    21  identity of such person.
    22    § 2. This act shall take effect on the  same  date  and  in  the  same
    23  manner   as  a  chapter  of  the  laws  of  2023  amending  the  general
    24  construction law relating to requiring the use of  gender-neutral  terms
    25  in  law,  as  proposed  in legislative bills numbers S. 155 and A. 1142,
    26  takes effect.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01090-02-4