BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1732 Page 1 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 | | | | | | | | | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------ SUMMARY: Requires, commencing on March 1, 2017, businesses, places of public accommodation, or state or local government AB 1732 Page 2 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 AB 1732 Page 3 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 AB 1732 Page 4 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 AB 1732 Page 5 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 AB 1732 Page 6 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