April 24, 2025: NYC PASSES TRANS SAFETY LAWS!

Our Executive Director Diana Adams and Senior Legal Director Andy Izenson provided verbal and written testimony on February 28, 2025 at the NYC Council Committee for Women and Gender Equity’s public hearing about these trans safety and support bills. Earlier in February, Diana and Andy taught a Continuing Legal Education course to NYC Council’s Legislative Division. The course included over 100 pages of written materials that provided input on the drafting of safety and support legislation for LGBTQIA+ folks in light of the numerous attacks on our community, and transgender people in particular, and offered examples from other cities and states trans safety legislation.  These written materials were shared throughout the NYC government and used, in part, in the creation of the “Protect Trans Futures Package” of safety and support laws.

Having extensively researched LGBTQIA+ sanctuary legislation in other municipalities and states, we are confident that these bills make up the strongest package of legislation passed nationwide designed to protect our TGNCNBI community thus far, while being intersectional with support for reproductive rights and immigrant communities. These bills strengthen the rights of TGNCNBI New Yorkers by: 

• protecting access to gender-affirming and reproductive care facilities by expanding an individual’s right to sue anyone who obstructs access to these facilities; 
• promoting access to education about legal rights and resources in NYC; lending support to TGNCNBI migrants; 
• taking steps to increase healthcare access and eliminate inequities; ensuring X gender markers are available on any city forms that ask for a sex designation; 
• directing hospitals to use appropriate guidelines for TGNCNBI healthcare; and
• protecting health data, including from out-of-state prosecutors. 

City Council Bill 1200-2025, “Publicly available information regarding gender identity related rights and resources,” introduced by Council Member Cabán, will protect the safety of TGNCNBI individuals by requiring the Mayor’s Office of Equity and Racial Justice to raise public awareness of the legal rights and resources available to our community in NYC, including by disseminating information on protections against discrimination and harassment as well as information on hate crime prosecution, access to gender-affirming care, and community organizations providing support to TGNCNBI individuals.

Bill 1201-2025, “Cause of action related to interference with reproductive or gender-affirming health care,” introduced by Council Member Hanif, will ensure the health needs of our community are protected from out-of-state threats. It protects access to gender-affirming and reproductive care by expanding an individual’s right to countersue against an out-of-state case brought against them for accessing that care. 

Bill 1203-2025, “Requiring the mayor’s office of immigrant affairs to conduct an assessment to support migrants who are transgender, gender non-conforming, non-binary, or intersex and to develop a phased implementation plan to address gaps in supports,” introduced by Council Member Ossé, protects some of the most vulnerable members of our community by mandating that New York City creates a plan to assess resources and address service gaps to TGNCNBI migrants.

Bill 1204-2025, “Requiring the commissioner of health and mental hygiene to conduct an assessment and develop a health agenda regarding health inequities affecting transgender, gender nonconforming, and non-binary individuals,” introduced by Council Member Ossé, will help ensure that adequate health care is provided to TGNCNBI New Yorkers by assessing health inequalities facing the TGNCNBI community and developing an agenda to address these inequalities. 

Bill 0246-2024, “Requiring city agencies to provide an “X” option for gender on certain forms,” introduced by Council Member Hudson, provides consistency to gender non-conforming and nonbinary New Yorkers by requiring social service organizations that collect demographic data to include an “X” option for gender on forms and data collection. 

City Council Resolution 0771-2025, “Extend protections over personal health information,” introduced by Council Member Bottcher, calls upon Governor Hochul to sign S.929/A.2141, which will prevent third parties from retaining the private healthcare data of New Yorkers. In particular, CFLC advocates for this bill’s passage because it will protect recipients of gender-affirming or reproductive healthcare from punishment for accessing that healthcare  by other states or the federal government.

Resolution 0774-2025, “Dept of Health to implement regulations requiring hospitals in NYC to adhere to the World Professional Association for Transgender Health’s Standards of Care 8,” introduced by Council Member Hudson, will require all hospitals in NYC to adhere to the most up-to-date scientific information available on TGNCNBI health and ensure that NYC’s hospitals continue to provide world-class care to our community. 

Resolution 0781-2025, “Prohibit out-of-state access to the New York State Prescription Monitoring Program’s data for certain medications including abortion medications, hormone therapy, and puberty blockers,” introduced by Council Member Schulman, will encourage New York State to pass legislation to block access to sensitive information about patients’ politicized medications such as testosterone and mifepristone. This will help to prevent out-of-state prosecutions of people seeking reproductive and gender-affirming care in New York. 

Finally, Resolution 0793-2025, “Provide additional protections for the sensitive health information of patients (S.1633/A.2613),” introduced by Council Member Schulman, calls on the New York Legislature and the Governor to protect New Yorkers seeking reproductive and gender-affirming care by enacting S.S.1633/A.2613. This bill would protect sensitive health information and give patients the right to restrict disclosure of their health information by health care providers, electronic health record systems, and health information networks. 

Thank you to New York City Council Members Tiffany Cabán, Erik Bottcher, Shahana Hanif, Chi Ossé, and Crystal Hudson who fought for these laws!  

NYC! Stand up now for the trans community!

NYC Council Members are considering a package of laws to provide safety and support for trans, gender nonconforming, nonbinary, and intersex (TGNCNBI) New Yorkers. If passed, these bills would make up the strongest package of legislation nationwide designed to protect our TGNCNBI community! BUT they are at risk of stalling and not passing. 

NYC: We need your help RIGHT NOW to ensure that these bills become NYC laws! 

The time is now for you to reach out to your NYC Council Member to demonstrate widespread community support. They need to know that the community urgently needs them to pass these bills! You can find your City Council Member here. 

We’re honored to have worked with NYC Council Members and their staff over the past few months and are proud to have been at the table with the writers of this package of laws that will provide safety and support for trans, gender nonconforming, nonbinary, and intersex New Yorkers! 

Our Executive Director Diana Adams and Senior Legal Director Andy Izenson testified before the NYC Council last month about trans support and safety bills. They also taught a Continuing Legal Education course to NYC Council in February with 100 pages of written materials that provided input on the drafting of support and safety legislation for LGBTQIA+ folks in light of the numerous attacks on our community, and transgender people in particular, which was shared throughout NYC government and used, in part, in the creation of trans safety laws. 

Click the link above and find the button near the top that says "Video" to watch the full hearing. Diana begins their remarks at one hour and 57 minutes, and Andy begins at two hours and 40 minutes. CFLC also submitted written testimony and will keep advocating for the passage of these bills and others to protect LGBTQIA+ and non-nuclear families. We’ve been involved every step of the way and will keep going until NYC provides its residents with the protection they need. 

We’ve been advocating at the New York City and State level to protect bodily autonomy for all — especially the rights of our transgender, nonbinary, and gender non-conforming community members. Not only are we fighting to protect LGBTQIA+ people and diverse families, but when we defend city and state civil rights laws against overreach by the federal government or other states, we also protect our democracy and its foundational principles.  

We encourage you to contact the bills’ co-sponsors directly (especially if they represent you!): Tiffany Caban, Shahana Hanif, Chi Osse, Erik Bottcher, Crystal Hudson, Lynn Schulman, Farah Louis, Alexa Avilés, Carlina Rivera, Lincoln Restler, Sandy Nurse, Carmen De La Rosa, and Keith Powers. We are grateful to these City Council Members for their outspoken support of our community!