BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    AB 1732


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          ASSEMBLY THIRD READING


          AB  
          1732 (Ting)


          As Amended  April 11, 2016


          Majority vote


           ------------------------------------------------------------------ 
          |Committee       |Votes|Ayes                  |Noes                |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
          |Business &      |14-0 |Salas, Baker, Bloom,  |                    |
          |Professions     |     |Campos, Chávez,       |                    |
          |                |     |Dahle, Dodd, Eggman,  |                    |
          |                |     |Gatto, Gomez, Holden, |                    |
          |                |     |Mullin, Ting, Wood    |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
          |Appropriations  |11-4 |Gonzalez, Bloom,      |Bigelow, Gallagher, |
          |                |     |Bonilla, Bonta,       |Obernolte, Wagner   |
          |                |     |Calderon, Daly,       |                    |
          |                |     |Eggman, Roger         |                    |
          |                |     |Hernández, Quirk,     |                    |
          |                |     |Santiago, Wood        |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
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          SUMMARY:  Requires, commencing on March 1, 2017, businesses,  
          places of public accommodation, or state or local government  








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          agencies that offer a single-user toilet facility to be  
          designated as an all-gender toilet facility, as specified, and  
          authorizes a local health officer or health inspector to inspect  
          for compliance.  Specifically, this bill:
          1)Requires all single-user toilet facilities in any business  
            establishment, place of public accommodation, or state or  
            local government agency to be identified as all-gender toilet  
            facilities, and designated for use by no more than one  
            occupant at a time or for family or assisted use, beginning  
            March 1, 2017. 
          2)Defines a "single-user toilet facility" to mean a toilet  
            facility with no more than one water closet and one urinal  
            with a locking mechanism controlled by the user.


          3)Specifies that during any inspection of a business or a place  
            of public accommodation by an inspector, building official, or  
            other local official responsible for code enforcement, the  
            inspector or official may inspect for compliance.


          FISCAL EFFECT:  According to the Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee, likely negligible state costs.  It is assumed that  
          there are currently very few, if any, single-use restrooms in  
          state facilities that are designated for use by only one gender.


          COMMENTS:


          Purpose.  This bill is sponsored by California NOW, Equality  
          California, and the Transgender   Law Center.  According to the  
          author, "restrooms are a necessity of life, and access to them  
          influences our ability to participate in public life.  However,  
          current practices that restrict access to single-occupancy  
          restrooms by gender create problems of safety, fairness, and  
          convenience.  This burden disproportionately impacts members of  
          the LGBT community, women, and parents or caretakers of  
          dependents of the opposite gender.  We must change our focus  








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          from segregating access to equalizing access to this solitary  
          room.  This will enable everyone to get in and out on the same  
          terms.  [This bill] eliminates the fears and frustration that  
          many people experience in public restrooms on a daily basis by  
          requiring all single-occupancy restrooms to be designated as  
          "all gender."  This is not a novel concept, as restrooms in  
          homes and airplanes, for example, are not gender-specific.  The  
          bill follows a best practice for the workplace set by the United  
          States Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health  
          Administration (OSHA) and is similar to local ordinances adopted  
          by cities across the nation to ensure that everyone's rights are  
          protected."


          Background.  The scope of this bill is limited to single-user  
          toilets located in a business, a place of public accommodation  
          or state or local government agency.  This bill does not address  
          multi-stall restrooms.  For those entities that offer  
          single-user restrooms, they will be required to make those  
          restrooms all-gender accessible.  Current law requires certain  
          public and privately owned facilities to maintain a designated  
          number of restroom facilities made accessible to employees or  
          the general public depending on California Building Standards  
          Code (CBC) or other municipal code requirements.  People have  
          become accustomed to the traditional "male" and "female"  
          designations in order to determine the appropriate restroom  
          facility to use.  


          This bill will not change existing laws with respect to the  
          number of, specifications for, or other facility requirements  
          for restrooms that a business or entity must comply with under  
          the existing CBC or current local ordinances, but changes the  
          restroom access designation.  The author notes that the  
          traditions of gender-based restroom restrictions create three  
          categories of problems:  1) convenience; 2) fairness; and, 3)  
          safety.  In an effort to address those concerns, this bill will  
          require those businesses with "single-user" restrooms to be  
          universally accessible regardless of a person's gender  








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          designation.  


          A universal access toilet facility may make it easier for  
          parents or caregivers of opposite genders to utilize an  
          available restroom and provides easier access for transgender or  
          gender non-conforming individuals to choose the appropriate  
          restroom to use.  According to an article in the Journal of  
          Public Management and Social Policy, Gender Restrooms and  
          Minority Stress:  The Public Regulation of Gender and its Impact  
          on Transgender People's Lives", noted that "All people share the  
          real human need for safe restroom facilities when we go to work,  
          go to school, and participate in public life.  Since the need is  
          universal, one would think that it would be a priority of our  
          society to make sure restrooms are safe and available for all  
          people.  Yet, the way gendered public restrooms are designed and  
          constructed harms transgender and gender non-conforming people,  
          some of whom may not conform to reified expectations of how men  
          and women will look and act."


          The California Building Standards Commission (CBSC) is  
          responsible for developing building standards for state owned  
          buildings, including University and State College buildings, and  
          for developing green building standards for most buildings  
          except for housing, public schools, and hospitals.  The CBSC  
          publishes the CBC in Title 24 of the California Code of  
          Regulations every three years and its supplements, such as the  
          California Green Building Standards Code, in intervening years.   
          The building codes apply to all building occupancies and related  
          features and equipment throughout the state, and set  
          requirements for structural, mechanical, electrical, and  
          plumbing systems, and require measures for energy conservation,  
          green design, construction and maintenance, fire and life  
          safety, and accessibility.  The size of the facility, its  
          purpose, the number of occupants, or location can determine the  
          requirements for the number of water closets or toilet  
          facilities an entity is required to have.  This bill does not  
          require businesses to add or remove existing restroom facilities  








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          or alter current restroom structures, it simply requires a  
          single-user toilet facility (meant for one single-user occupant  
          at a time) to be made available to any person, regardless of a  
          person's gender designation.  Enforcement of this bill is  
          delegated to a health officer or inspector, at the local level,  
          but does not require those inspectors to do so.  


          Signage Requirements.  The CBC requires certain signage  
          designations for restroom facilities which include only a  
          geometric symbol.  Terms frequently seen on restroom doors such  
          as "restroom," "male," or "female" are not currently required  
          under the current CBC.  Symbols are required on restroom doors  
          or immediately adjacent to restroom entrances when doors are not  
          available.  Geometric symbols are intended for visually impaired  
          persons to identify the appropriate restroom facility to use.   
          If word designations are included on the sign, then there are  
          additional compliance requirements including type, size and  
          font.  Compliance with the CBC requirements for bathroom signage  
          is typically handled by local building officials.  According to  
          the Department of General Services, geometric signage  
          designations were not required under state law until 1982.  This  
          bill does not require businesses to add or remove existing  
          restroom facilities or alter current restroom structures, it  
          simply requires a single-user restroom facility (meant for one  
          single-user occupant at a time) to be made available to any  
          person.  


          California and Other States.  Several cities and a number of  
          educational institutions are in the process or have already  
          transitioned to a "universal access" approach to restroom  
          facilities.  In the City and County of San Francisco, an  
          ordinance was proposed in January of 2016, that would mandate  
          businesses and places of public accommodation designate  
          single-user toilet facilities that are available to the public  
          or employees as all-gender and accessible to persons of any  
          gender identity, as specified.  A January 11, 2016 article in  
          Time Magazine stated that if that ordinance passes, "it will add  








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          San Francisco alongside Philadelphia, Seattle, Washington, D.C.,  
          West Hollywood, Calif[ornia]. and Austin, Texas, to the list of  
          cities with gender-neutral bathroom provisions. More than 150  
          United States colleges and universities have also instituted  
          such measures, including the entire University of California  
          system."  


          Analysis Prepared by:                                             
                          Elissa Silva / B. & P. / (916) 319-3301  FN:  
          0002766