Sponsors (21)
The bill expands federal nondiscrimination protections to explicitly cover LGBTQ people and pregnant people across a wider set of public accommodations (including online and transportation), while increasing legal exposure and compliance costs for religious groups and small providers and creating some privacy concerns in shared facilities.
LGBTQ people and pregnant people gain explicit federal protection from discrimination in public accommodations, including transportation and non‑physical providers (like online services), increasing access to services and places.
Pregnant people cannot be treated less favorably for pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions in public accommodations, protecting their access to services during and after pregnancy.
The bill extends coverage and remedies by clarifying that more places and non‑physical providers (including online services and transportation) fall within the law, allowing more discrimination claims across commerce.
Religious organizations and individuals may lose RFRA‑based defenses against Title II claims, increasing their legal exposure and potential litigation costs.
Small businesses and other service providers (including online platforms and individual providers) face broader nondiscrimination obligations and an expanded scope of federal liability, likely raising compliance and litigation costs.
Requiring access to shared, sex‑segregated facilities based on gender identity may create privacy or comfort conflicts for some facility users.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Expands federal public-accommodations law to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity and broadens covered places and providers.
Introduced January 9, 2026 by Bonnie Watson Coleman · Last progress January 9, 2026
Expands federal public-accommodations law to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity and to broaden what kinds of businesses and services qualify as public accommodations. It adds new definitions and rules about sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics, requires equal treatment for pregnancy-related conditions, and requires access to shared facilities consistent with a person’s gender identity. The bill also clarifies that protections apply to nonphysical service providers whose operations affect commerce, preserves other statutory claims and remedies (including enforcement through 42 U.S.C. 1983), and specifies that enforcement is not defeated by religious-freedom defenses in other statutes.