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Genome Statute and Legislation Database

The Genome Statute and Legislation Database is comprised of state statutes and bills introduced during the 2002-2024 U.S. state legislative sessions.

Overview

The Genome Statute and Legislation Database is reviewed and updated monthly. Searchable topics in the database include employment and insurance discrimination, health insurance coverage, privacy, research, the use of residual newborn screening specimens and other topics of interest.

Definitions of terms such as "bill", "statute", and "regulation" are available through the Glossary of Statutory, Legislative, and Regulatory Terms.

For other helpful links and legislative databases, please see Additional Resources.

State Primary Link Topic(s) Bill Status Sort descending Summary
Florida Other Lines of Insurance Nondiscrimination Died

Prohibits life insurers and long-term care insurers from basing decisions on genetic information. Prohibits these insurers from taking certain actions related to genetic information for any insurance purpose. Died.

Maryland Other Topics Died

Prohibits a hospital from withholding financial assistance or from denying a patient's application for financial assistance based on genetic information. Died.

Kentucky Privacy Died

Any agency that collects, maintains, or stores personal information that determines or is notified of a security breach relating to personal information collected, maintained, or stored by the agency or by a nonaffiliated third party on behalf of the agency must take specified actions. Personal information includes a genetic print or image. Agencies covered under the law include the executive branch of state government, local government and public educational institutions. Died.

Minnesota Privacy, Research Died

This bill creates personal property rights human biological specimens, defined as tissues, organs and body parts from which DNA may be isolated and requires written informed consent for the use of biological specimens in medical or genetic research. Consent forms must provide at least three options, including consent for a specific research project, consent for future research projects that are yet undefined, or consent for future research projects that are yet undefined, contingent on the research entity returning to seek specific written informed consent if the project is or could be considered controversial. The bill allows limited use of biological specimens for the calibration of laboratory equipment. Measure failed.

Maryland Privacy Died

Enacts the Online Consumer Protection Act. Defines biometric information to include an individual's DNA. Died.

Montana Health Insurance Nondiscrimination Died

A health insurance issuer offering individual health_insurance_coverage in this state may not establish rules for eligibility or adjust premiums for any individual or individual's dependent to enroll in individual health_insurance_coverage based on genetic information. Individual health insurance issuers also may not impose any preexisting condition exclusion on the basis of genetic information or request or require an individual or a family member of an individual to undergo a genetic test. Died in Standing Committee.

New York Health Insurance Coverage Died

This bill requires health insurers to cover genetic testing of persons with a family history of cancer when the attending physician determines such person has a significant risk of cancer. Measure failed.

New York Health Insurance Coverage Died

Requires health insurance policies to cover comprehensive screening for ovarian cancer for persons at high risk, including genetic testing. Died.

Tennessee Other Topics Died

Creates a genetic advisory committee. Substituted by 2019 SB 127, which became Pub. Ch. 43 April 3, 2019.

West Virginia Health Insurance Coverage Died

Requires insurance coverage of a comprehensive ultrasound screening of breast if a woman is believed to be at increased risk of cancer based on several factors, including positive genetic testing. Died.

Connecticut Employment Nondiscrimination Died

This bill amends the state genetic nondiscrimination law for employment by creating an exemption for state or local law enforcement, the department of public safety and the division of scientific services that allows those entities to request or require employees to provide genetic information for the purpose of detecting contamination of samples examined by the division of scientific services. Measure failed.

Idaho Other Topics Died

If a firefighter is diagnosed with breast cancer within 5 years of employment if diagnosed before the age of 40 and if the cancer was not revealed during an initial employment medical screening examination or during any subsequent medical review, the disease shall be rebuttably presumed to be proximately caused by the firefighter's employment as a firefighter, regardless of whether or not the firefighter has a genetic predisposition to breast cancer. Died.

Massachusetts Health Insurance Coverage Died

Measure to enhance high quality, affordable health care. The bill includes a provision requiring coverage for genetically targeted drugs for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, if offered to active or retired employees of the commonwealth insured under the group insurance commission. Died.

Maryland Health Insurance Nondiscrimination, Other Lines of Insurance Nondiscrimination Died

This bill amends provisions of law that relate to the use of genetic tests and genetic information by an insurer, nonprofit health service plan, or health maintenance organization. The bill also amends provisions related to the use of genetic information in disability insurance, longterm care insurance, or life insurance. Measure failed.

Mississippi Employment Nondiscrimination Died

Makes it unlawful for any employer or insurer to use the results of DNA testing against a patient or against the patient's consanguineous family members for any discriminatory purpose. Any employer who violates this section shall, upon conviction, be fined up to $5,000.00 or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both. Died in Committee on February 4, 2014.

New Jersey Privacy Died

Makes confidential any part of a 9-1-1 audio recording or transcript that discloses a person's health status, medical conditions, health care services or treatments, medical history, genetic information, or current health insurance plan information by excluding it from the definition of a government record. Died.

New York Employment Nondiscrimination, Health Insurance Nondiscrimination, Other Topics, Other Lines of Insurance Nondiscrimination, Privacy Died

Establishes a genetics advisory council and requires the council to report to the Governor on several topics, including (1) creating an environment in which there is equitable access to the benefits of genetic tests to all citizens regardless of race, ethnicity or economic status; and (2) the use of any genetic test by insurers, employers or educational institutions, including the potential for compromising the individual liberties and civil rights of individuals or causing individuals to suffer unfair discrimination. Died.

Ohio Privacy Died

Requires a health care provider to obtain an individual's informed consent prior to testing for the presence or absence of a communicable life-threatening disease or infection or immune response to disease or infection that is the subject of an epidemic or pandemic. The results of an individual's test, including any partial or complete biometric record of an individual's DNA sequence is the property of the individual and may only be transmitted to the individual tested. 5/27/20 Referred to Committee on State and Local Government. Died.

Vermont Employment Nondiscrimination, Health Insurance Nondiscrimination, Other Topics, Other Lines of Insurance Nondiscrimination Died

Prohibits discrimination based on an individual�s genetic information in relation to employment, labor relations, insurance coverage, and the provision of social and medical services. 1/13/2021 Read 1st time & referred to Committee on Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs. Carries over to 2022.

Oregon Health Insurance Nondiscrimination Died

This bill creates the Oregon Health Insurance Exchange and prohibits the treatment of genetic information in the absence of a diagnosis as a pre-existing condition in the exchange. Measure failed.

Virginia Employment Nondiscrimination Died

Establishes policies to prevent workplace harassment in the legislative branch. Workplace harassment is defined as unwelcome verbal, written, or physical conduct that either denigrates or shows hostility or aversion toward a person on the basis of certain characteristics, including genetics, that (i) has the purpose or effect of creating an environment that a reasonable person would consider intimidating, hostile, or abusive; (ii) has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an employee's work performance; or (iii) affects an employee's employment opportunities or compensation. Died.

Georgia Neonatal sequencing Died

Relating to medical assistance generally, so as to provide for Medicaid coverage of rapid whole genome sequencing; to define a term; to provide for eligibility criteria; to provide for coverage criteria; to provide for necessary approvals and administrative actions.

California Health Insurance Nondiscrimination Died

Creates the Healthy California Board, which is responsible for the establishment of the Healthy California program to provide comprehensive universal single-payer health care coverage and a health care cost control system for the benefit of all residents of the state. Consistent with the Unruh Civil Rights Act, the Board must promote nondiscrimination with respect to members and health care providers on the basis of genetic information and other characteristics. Died.

Georgia Employment Nondiscrimination, Other Lines of Insurance Nondiscrimination, Privacy Died

This bill creates guidelines such as consent requirements for the creation and storage of biometric information, which is defined to include DNA samples. The bill also prohibits life insurers from requiring genetic information to determine an applicants eligibility or rates to be charged for life insurance; however, any pre-existing genetic information must be supplied to the insurance company upon application. The bill forbids employers or employment agencies from using information derived from genetic testing for identification purposes or as a condition of employment. The bill provides remedies for individuals whose genetic information is inappropriately used. Measure failed.

Massachusetts Health Insurance Coverage Died

This bill requires individual accident and sickness policies, individual and group hospital service plans, the group insurance commissionplan for active and retired employees, and individual or group medical service agreement and health maintenance contract to provide benefits on a nondiscrminatory basis for diagnosis and treatment of autism. Diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders is defined to include genetic testing. Accompanied a new draft 2010 H. 4935, which was enacted.

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Additional Resources

Cornell Legal Information Institute
This website allows users to search for Federal and state laws and regulations. NHGRI’s Genome Statute and Legislation Database does not include regulations.

LawSeqSM Database
Developed at the University of Minnesota and Vanderbilt University Medical Center, this database allows users to search federal and state statutes, regulations, and reported judicial decisions. The database allows searches by jurisdiction (federal, state, and individuals states), source type, topic, and open text. This resource was developed by a project funded by NHGRI and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) on “LawSeqSM: Building a Sound Legal Foundation for Translating Genomics into Clinical Application” (grant #: R01HG008605; Susan M. Wolf,. Ellen Wright Clayton, and Frances Lawrenz, principal investigators). The team keeps this database up to date.

National Society of Genetic Counselors
To find information about state genetic counselor licensing laws, visit the National Society of Genetic Counselors’ website. NHGRI’s Genome Statute and Legislation Database does not include state laws related to genetic counseling. 

Last updated: February 8, 2024