20240415-002: Transgender and Gender Expansive and Sexual Identity Protections — original pdf

Recommendation

LGBTQ QUALITY OF LIFE ADVISORY COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION 20240415-2 Transgender and Gender Expansive and Sexual Identity Protections WHEREAS, the City of Austin has been one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States for over a decade, resulting in rapidly increasing demands on housing, infrastructure, public safety, and other city resources; and WHEREAS, in 2023, the Texas state legislature passed legislation restricting or criminalizing access to gender-affirming healthcare across Texas, which was subsequently signed by the governor and became law effective September 1, 2023; and WHEREAS, as a home-rule city, the City has the authority and responsibility to prioritize the use of its limited resources and taxpayer dollars to address the most urgent needs of all residents, including focusing the use of public safety resources on substantive and broad threats to residents’ safety and livelihood; and WHEREAS the City Council recognizes that families and healthcare providers in Austin are living in uncertainty and fear, and many are considering moving away or have already moved to other states to access medical care for their children or to be able to practice medicine freely in accordance with professional and ethical standards; and WHEREAS multiple healthcare providers in Texas have scaled back healthcare services in response to legal challenges, perception of legal risk, harassment, or threats of violence; and WHEREAS gender-affirming healthcare has been proven to be evidence-based, medically necessary, and lifesaving by the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the American Academy of Pediatricians, the Endocrine Society, the American Psychiatric Association, and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, amongst other institutions; and WHEREAS, studies have shown that gender transition, including access to gender-affirming healthcare, improves the overall well-being of transgender and Gender Expansive people and that access to gender- affirming healthcare for youth is associated with better mental health outcomes and lower risks of suicide; and WHEREAS over 94 percent of LGBTQ+ youth surveyed by the Trevor Project in late 2021 said recent politics have negatively impacted their mental health, and 93 percent of transgender and nonbinary youth surveyed by the Trevor Project in 2022 said they have worried about transgender and gender expansive people being denied access to gender-affirming medical care due to state or local laws; and WHEREAS, a majority of U.S. adults agree that transgender and gender-expansive minors should have access to gender-affirming care; and WHEREAS, the City of Austin has consistently declared its commitment to furthering transgender equity and supporting its transgender and gender-expansive community, including proclaiming May 5, 2022, as Page 1 of 2  Y’all Means All Day and March 9, 2022, as Transgender Youth and Family Safety Day, providing supportive services through Austin Public Health, and frequently and consistently partnering with organizations and healthcare providers that provide supportive services to transgender and nonbinary youth; and WHEREAS, it is necessary and appropriate to exercise the authority vested in the City of Austin City Charter, including the coordinated and integrated direction, supervision, and control of all City of Austin departments, boards, commissions, and other agencies, to protect the safety and wellbeing of all residents, including attracting and keeping qualified and talented healthcare professionals, and to be responsible stewards of taxpayer money by prioritizing the urgent needs of all people. BE IT RESOLVED Except to the extent required by law, it is the policy of the City that no City personnel, funds, or resources shall be used to investigate, criminally prosecute, or impose administrative penalties upon: (1) a transgender or gender-expansive individual for seeking healthcare or (2) an individual or organization for providing or assisting with the provision of healthcare to a transgender or gender- expansive individual. The City shall not terminate or limit the eligibility for City funding, such as grants or contracts, to an individual or organization for seeking, providing, or assisting with the provision of healthcare to a transgender or gender-expansive individual. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED It is the policy of the City to support and protect the health, welfare, and safety of individuals who identify or are perceived as LGBTQIA+ and those who provide services and support to those individuals through the vigorous enforcement of hate crime and anti-discrimination laws and providing other forms of support. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED If any law or regulation of the State of Texas imposes criminal punishment, civil liability, administrative penalties, or professional sanctions upon (1) a transgender or gender- expansive individual for seeking healthcare or (2) an individual or organization for providing or assisting with the provision of healthcare to a transgender or gender-expansive individual, City personnel shall make enforcement of said law or regulation their lowest priority. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED Except to the extent required by law, City personnel shall not enforce laws of liability, administrative penalties, or other jurisdictions that professional sanctions, upon (1) a transgender or gender-expansive individual for seeking healthcare or (2) an individual or organization for providing or assisting with the provision of healthcare to a transgender or gender-expansive individual and shall decline any request to stop, arrest, detain, continue to detain, or transfer into the custody of any other law enforcement, individuals on the basis of such conduct being criminalized, penalized, or sanctionable in said jurisdiction. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED Except to the extent required by law, City personnel shall not affirmatively provide to nor respond to any request for information from another jurisdiction if the information is related to that jurisdiction's laws, rules, or regulations imposing criminal punishment, civil liability, administrative penalties, or professional sanctions or the investigation thereof, upon (1) a transgender or gender-expansive individual for seeking healthcare or (2) an individual or organization for providing or assisting with the provision of healthcare to a transgender or gender-expansive individual. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED Except to the extent required by law, City personnel shall not enforce or facilitate the collection of any judgment of another jurisdiction to the extent the judgment arises out of a cause of action in that jurisdiction against (1) a transgender or gender-expansive individual for seeking impose criminal punishment, civil Page 2 of 2  healthcare or (2) an individual or organization for providing or assisting with the provision of healthcare to a transgender or gender-expansive individual. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED The policies set forth herein apply only to cases where individuals or organizations are facing criminal or civil action solely for the provision of or assistance in obtaining gender-affirming healthcare for transgender or gender-expansive individuals that affirms their gender identity and do not apply to investigation, prosecution, or any other criminal or civil action concerning negligence, malpractice, intentional tort, criminal act other than providing or assisting in obtaining healthcare for transgender or gender-expansive individuals, or the breach of rules of professional conduct or licensing in the provision of, assistance in obtaining of, or referral to such healthcare. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED The City Council supports the incorporation of the policies contained in this Resolution into the Austin Police Department’s General Orders. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED The City Council directs the City Manager to explore establishing a program or identify resources to assist Austin residents facing potential criminal punishment, civil liability, administrative penalties, or professional sanctions for providing to or assisting transgender or gender- expansive individuals with healthcare or for seeking or receiving such care, including but not limited to collaboration with Travis County, especially the Travis Counties Sheriff’s office, the District attorney and the county attorney’s office. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED The City Manager is directed to take appropriate steps to implement this Resolution and report back to the City of Austin LGBTQ Quality of Life Commission and the City Council within three months of the passage of this resolution. The City Manager is further directed to return to the City Council for authorization of any needed policy clarifications or changes in the event of future changes to federal law, state law, or technology that affect this Resolution. VOTE Date of Approval: 4/15/2024 Record of the Vote: Adopted without objection on an 11-0 vote, with Commissioner Garza Abstaining Present: Jerome Benson (Jerry Joe) John Scott Neal ● Christian Aguirre ● ● ● Gary Brown ● Brandon Wollerson ● Charles Curry • Mariana Krueger (virtual) • Yuri G Barragán ● Alexander Andersen • Morgan Davis • David Garza • Melissa Taylor (virtual) Page 3 of 2  Attest: Alyssa Parra 4/16/2024 Page 4 of 2