Bill > S1996

Introduced Session

This bill revises certain laws pertaining to electronic medical records and the recording of patients' demographic information. It is the sponsor's intent that this bill will prohibit general acute care hospitals and clinical laboratories from collecting, or requesting to collect, data concerning sexual orientation or gender identity from minor patients, unless the minor patient's parent or guardian voluntarily provides such information. If such information is voluntarily provided by a parent or guardian, the provisions of the bill should not be construed as prohibiting a health care provider from discussing and recording the information, as necessary for the provision of health care services. Specifically, this bill provides that a general acute care hospital or clinical laboratory will not collect, or request to collect, data concerning patient sexual orientation or gender identity for a patient who is a minor under the age of 18, unless the patient or patient's parent or guardian voluntarily provides the data. The bill also revises current law concerning electronic medical records or laboratory information management systems to provide that, in the case of a minor patient under the age of 18, certain electronic medical records or laboratory information management systems will be configured in a manner that does not require a selection for the patient's gender identity and sexual orientation in order to save or store the patient's demographic information. Under current law, a clinical laboratory is required to electronically record the race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender identity of each patient who presents with a non-electronic order for testing at a clinical laboratory patient service center. Current law also requires that certain electronic medical records or laboratory information management systems used by acute care hospitals and licensed clinical laboratories are to be configured in a manner that prevents an authorized user from saving or storing a patient's demographic information into the electronic medical records or laboratory information management systems unless a selection for a patient's gender identity, sexual orientation, and racial and ethnic information is recorded.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Holly Schepisi (R)*,  Jim Holzapfel (R), 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee (on 01/13/2026)

Official Document