Reporting and an advisory board on gender marker change requirement.

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to reporting and an advisory board on gender marker change requirement.

This bill would create an Advisory Board relating to the effectiveness and implementation of the gender marker change requirements in Proposed Introduction Number 491-A and the New York City Health Code. It would require the Advisory Board to issue a report concerning the requirement and recommendations for changes and/or improvements, if any. The Board would consist of seven members, with the Commissioner of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) appointing four members, and the Speaker of the City Council appointing the remaining three. The Board members would include advocates for transgender people, licensed medical or mental health professionals who are permitted to make attestations pursuant to the gender marker requirement, and a senior staff person in DOHMH working on transgender and/or lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues. The Board would meet no less than every three months, and would assess the gender marker change requirement, including transgender people’s access to professionals who can complete the attestations for gender marker change applications, utilization of the amendment process, the number of applicants, processing time for applications and the requirement’s impact on transgender people. The Board would also make recommendations for improvements, if any, to the gender marker change requirement, including, but not limited to, best practices among policies for gender marker changes, and actions taken by DOHMH in response to such recommendations. The Board would be required to submit a report to the Mayor, the Commissioner of DOHMH and the Speaker of the Council on or before March 1, 2017 covering the subjects of the Board’s meetings.