Public Health Equity Act

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Public Health Equity Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) all communities and individuals are entitled to 
        protection from occupational and other exposure to substances 
        that are hazardous to the public health;
            (2) hazardous substances have had a disproportionate impact 
        on the public health of poor and ethnic minority communities 
        and individuals, resulting in exclusion from participation in, 
        denial of benefits under, and discrimination under, programs 
        and activities receiving Federal financial assistance; and
            (3) each Federal agency has an obligation to ensure that 
        all federally assisted programs and activities that affect 
        human health do not directly or through contractual 
        arrangements use criteria, methods, or practices that cause 
        discrimination on the ground of race, color, or national 
        origin.

SEC. 3. PUBLIC HEALTH EQUITY.

    The Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 201 et seq.) is amended by 
adding at the end thereof the following new title:

                  ``TITLE XXVII--PUBLIC HEALTH EQUITY

``SEC. 2701. DEFINITIONS.

    ``As used in this title:
            ``(1) Activity; program.--The term `program or activity' 
        means any operation of--
                    ``(A)(i) a department, agency, special purpose 
                district, or other instrumentality of a State or of a 
                local government; or
                    ``(ii) the entity of such State or local government 
                that distributes such assistance and each such 
                department or agency (and each other State or local 
                government entity) to which the assistance is extended, 
                in the case of assistance to a State or local 
                government;
                    ``(B)(i) a college, university, or other 
                postsecondary institution, or a public system of higher 
                education; or
                    ``(ii) a local educational agency (as defined in 
                section 198(a)(10) of the Elementary and Secondary 
                Education Act of 1965), system of vocational education, 
                or other school system;
                    ``(C)(i) an entire corporation, partnership, or 
                other private organization, or an entire sole 
                proprietorship--
                            ``(I) if assistance is extended to such 
                        corporation, partnership, private organization, 
                        or sole proprietorship as a whole; or
                            ``(II) which is principally engaged in the 
                        business of providing education, health care, 
                        housing, social services, or parks and 
                        recreation; or
                    ``(ii) the entire plant or other comparable, 
                geographically separate facility to which Federal 
                financial assistance is extended, in the case of any 
                other corporation, partnership, private organization, 
                or sole proprietorship; or
                    ``(D) any other entity which is established by two 
                or more of the entities described in subparagraph (A), 
                (B), or (C);
        any part of which is extended Federal financial assistance 
        relating to a covered substance.
            ``(2) Administrator.--The term `Administrator' has the 
        meaning given the term in section 511(7) of the Education for 
        Economic Security Act (20 U.S.C. 4020(7)).
            ``(3) Covered substance.--The term `covered substance' 
        means--
                    ``(A) any material subject to the requirements 
                concerning material safety data sheets for chemicals 
                under the Occupational and Safety and Health Act of 
                1970 (29 U.S.C. 651 et seq.);
                    ``(B) any contaminant identified in title XIV;
                    ``(C) any substance described in section 201(q) of 
                the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 
                321(q)), and any material registered pursuant to the 
                Act referred to in such section;
                    ``(D) any chemical listed by the National 
                Toxicology Program of the Department of Health and 
                Human Services as a known or probable human carcinogen; 
                and
                    ``(E) any substance defined in section 101(14) of 
                the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, 
                and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601(14)) and any 
                chemical subject to section 313 of the Emergency 
                Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986 (42 
                U.S.C. 11023).

``SEC. 2702. NONDISCRIMINATION.

    ``(a) Prohibition of Discrimination.--The President shall ensure 
that no person shall be excluded from participation in, be denied the 
benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under, any program or 
activity, on the ground of race, color, or national origin.
    ``(b) Promulgation of Regulations.--
            ``(1) Subject.--Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary of 
        Labor, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the 
        Administrator, and any other head of a Federal agency with 
        responsibility for providing Federal financial assistance to a 
        program or activity shall issue regulations implementing the 
        nondiscrimination requirements described in subsection (a) in 
        accordance with any applicable law. The regulations shall bar 
        acts with discriminatory effects as well as intentionally 
        discriminatory acts. The regulations shall address actions of 
        programs or activities that result in disproportionate exposure 
        to a covered substance on the basis of race, color, or national 
        origin.
            ``(2) Timetable.--In issuing regulations under paragraph 
        (1)--
                    ``(A) not later than 180 days after the date of 
                enactment of this Act, each individual described in 
                paragraph (1) shall publish a notice of proposed 
                rulemaking in the Federal Register;
                    ``(B) each individual described in paragraph (1) 
                shall provide a public comment period, subject to 
                section 553 of title 5, United States Code, of 60 days 
                after the publication of the notice of proposed 
                rulemaking required under subparagraph (A); and
                    ``(C) not later than 45 days after the close of the 
                public comment period required under subparagraph (B), 
                each individual described in paragraph (1) shall 
                publish final regulations.''.

Summary: Public Health Equity Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to add a new title, title XXVII: Public Health Equity. Prohibits, under such title, acts with discriminatory effect as well as intentionally discriminatory acts that result in disproportionate exposure to a covered substance on the basis of race, color, or national origin. Defines a covered substance to include certain hazardous materials, substances, contaminants, or chemicals listed, identified, or defined in specified laws.