BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1787
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 21, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
AB 1787 (Lowenthal) - As Amended: April 10, 2014
SUBJECT : Airports: commercial operations: lactation
accommodation.
SUMMARY : Requires large commercial airports in California to
provide a room separate from a public restroom behind security
at each gate where women can express breast milk in private.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the airport manager of an airport that conducts
commercial operations and that has more than one million
enplanements per year, on or before January 1, 2016, to
provide a room or other location at each airport terminal
behind the airport security screening area for members of the
public to express breast milk in private that meets both of
the following conditions:
a) Includes, at a minimum, a chair, an electrical outlet,
and a sink; and,
b) Is located outside of the confines of a public restroom.
2)Exempts Terminal One at the San Diego International Airport
from providing a room or other location behind the airport
security screening area, but requires the airport to provide a
secure room located in the same terminal prior to entering the
security screening area that meets all of the other conditions
described above.
3)Requires airports that conduct commercial operations and that
have less than one million enplanements per year to comply
upon new terminal construction or upon the modernization of
existing terminal facilities.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires every California employer to provide a reasonable
amount of break time for an employee to express breast milk
for her infant child.
AB 1787
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2)Requires employers to make reasonable efforts to provide an
employee desiring to express breast milk with the use of a
room or other location, other than a toilet stall, in close
proximity to the employee's work area to express milk in
private.
3)Allows a mother to breastfeed her child in any location,
public or private, except the private home of another, where
the mother and the child are otherwise authorized to be
present.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : According to the U.S. Breastfeeding Committee, women
with infants and children are the fastest growing segment of the
workforce. Among employed women with children under age three,
approximately 70% work full-time. One-third of mothers return
to work within three months after giving birth, and two-thirds
return within six months.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that babies be
exclusively breastfed for about the first six months of life,
and should continue to be breastfed for a year or for as long as
is mutually desired by the mother and the baby. The Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that the percentage
of new mothers in California who exclusively breastfeed at three
months is 56.8%, dropping dramatically to 27.4% at six months.
While breastfeeding is recommended, workplace and other facility
constraints often create obstacles for mothers trying to
continue to breastfeed after returning to work. California law
clearly establishes a woman's right to breastfeed her child in
any location where she is otherwise authorized to be. The law
also requires employers to make reasonable efforts to provide
employees with a private room and break time to express
breastmilk. These legal protections, while critical, do not
help in situations where a working mother must travel for work
without her child and must express breast milk.
AB 1787 requires all large commercial airports in California to
provide, by 2016, a private room or space, outside the confines
of a public restroom, behind security at each terminal for
nursing mothers to express breastmilk. The bill allows San
AB 1787
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Diego International Airport to provide the room before security
at its Terminal One due to severe space constraints behind
security. Smaller commercial airports would be required to
comply only upon new terminal construction or modernization.
Currently in California, only one airport-San Francisco
International-offers private rooms behind security for the
purpose of expressing breastmilk.
Writing in support, Breastfeed LA points out that many mothers
who must travel struggle to find appropriate space in public
settings to express milk. The organization argues that whether
women are using airports for business or personal travel, they
deserve to be accommodated appropriately and equal to their
needs. Breastfeed LA and other supporters further note that the
travelling mother may find that they are at the airport longer
than anticipated due to travel delays and need to express milk
to avoid engorgement and maintain their milk supply.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Association of Flight Attendants-CWA
Breastfeed L.A.
California Communities United Institute
California WIC Association
Limerick
Los Angeles Lactation
Zero to Three, National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and
Families
60 Individual letters
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Anya Lawler / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093