BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1358
Page 1
Date of Hearing: August 28, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND CONSUMER
PROTECTION
Susan A. Bonilla, Chair
SB 1358 (Wolk and Lara) - As Amended: August 25, 2014
SENATE VOTE : 29-1
SUBJECT : Baby diaper changing stations.
SUMMARY : Requires buildings owned or partially owned by state
or local governments, as well as other private buildings open to
the public, to maintain at least one safe, sanitary, and
convenient baby diaper changing station (station) that is
accessible to women and men. Specifically , this bill:
1)Requires, for a public building owned or partially owned by a
state or local agency, or for a portion of a building owned by
a state or local agency which includes at least one public
restroom, that:
a) On each floor containing one or more publicly accessible
restroom, there be at least one safe, sanitary, and
convenient station that is accessible to women and men;
b) Each station include signage at or near the entrance to
the station indicating the location of the station;
c) The central directory, if one exists, indicate the
location of the station; and,
d) Each station be maintained, repaired, and replaced as
necessary to ensure safety and ease of use, and cleaned
with the same frequency as the restroom in which it is
located.
2)Requires a theater or movie house, grocery store, exhibition
hall, library, convention center, sports arena, auditorium,
cultural complex, exhibition hall, library, passenger
terminal, permanent amusement park structure, restaurant with
a seating capacity of at least 50 seats, shopping center of
more than 25,000 square feet, tourist attraction, or retail
store of more than 5,000 square feet to install and maintain
at least one safe, sanitary, and convenient station that is
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accessible to women and men, if the facility is open to the
public.
3)Exempts the following locations from the station requirement:
a) An industrial building;
b) Nightclub;
c) Bar that does not permit anyone who is under 18 years of
age to enter the premises;
d) A health facility, if the restroom is intended for the
use of one patient or resident at a time; and,
e) A restaurant with a seating capacity of at least 50
seats, if there is a centrally located facility with a
station located within 300 feet of the restaurant's
entrance.
4)States that the requirements for buildings which are not owned
or partially owned by a state or local agency are not
enforceable by a private right of action.
5)States that the first violation by a restaurant which fails to
provide a station is a warning, and that subsequent violations
constitute an infraction punishable by a fine of not more than
$250.
6)Applies the station requirements to all new construction and
all bathroom renovations for which a permit has been obtained
that estimates the cost of renovation at $10,000 or more for
both state and local agency-owned and specified private
buildings.
7)Authorizes the local building permitting entity or building
inspector to grant an exemption for bathroom renovations if
the entity or inspector determines that the installation of a
station is not feasible or would result in a failure to comply
with applicable building standards governing the right of
access for persons with disabilities.
8)Finds and declares that access to stations is a matter of
statewide concern and not a municipal affair; states that the
provisions of this bill related to buildings owned or
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partially owned by local agencies apply to charter cities,
charter counties, and charter cities and counties; and
encourages the University of California to comply with other
specified provisions of this bill.
9)States that no reimbursement is required by this bill pursuant
to the California Constitution; however, if the Commission on
State Mandates determines that this act contains other costs
mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and
school districts for those costs shall be made as specified.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the State Building Construction Act of 1955, which
generally sets forth procedures for the acquisition and
construction of state buildings. (Government Code Section
(GOV) 15800 et seq.)
2)Establishes duties and powers common to cities and counties
related to public buildings. (GOV 50530 et seq.)
3)Requires a permanent food facility to provide clean toilet
facilities in good repair for consumers, guests, or invitees
when there is onsite consumption of foods or when the food
facility was constructed after July 1, 1984, and has more than
20,000 square feet of floor space. (Health and Safety Code
Section (HSC) 114276 (b))
4)Requires a food facility to provide either clean toilet
facilities in good repair, or prominently post a sign that
toilet facilities are not provided, for which the penalty for
the first failure is a warning, followed by a fine of not more
than $250. (HSC 114276 (f))
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, anecdotal evidence suggests that costs to purchase
and install a diaper changing station as a part of new
construction may be in the range of $1,000 to $2,000 per
station. Total state costs would depend on the number of state
buildings constructed in a single year, the number of restrooms
in those buildings that are accessible to the public, and
similarly to the number of accessible restrooms renovated in
existing state buildings. These costs are unknown but would
likely not be significant in any fiscal year and would be borne
by numerous different state funds.
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The bill also creates an ongoing state reimbursable mandate for
costs to install stations in city and county buildings under
construction or when restrooms in these buildings meet the
specified renovation criteria. Depending on
construction/renovation activity, these General Fund costs could
be significant statewide in any one year. However, given the
likely minor costs to any single jurisdiction, it is unclear the
extent to which many jurisdiction would submit a mandate claim
for their costs.
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of this bill. This bill requires state or
locally-owned buildings and other private buildings open to
the public to maintain at least one safe, sanitary, and
convenient station that is accessible to women and men. These
provisions are required for all new construction, for all
bathroom remodels costing over $10,000, and are applicable to
charter cities, charter counties, and charter cities and
counties, but exclude industrial buildings and adult
nightclubs or bars. This bill is intended to make infant care
more convenient, safe, and accessible to both men and women
outside the home. This bill is author-sponsored.
2)Author's statement . According to the author's office,
"Currently, parents who change their babies' diapers while
away from home often find the availability of public restrooms
problematic. Parents may be forced to change their babies'
diapers on dirty bathroom floors, posing a health risk to the
child. Changing the baby in the parents' personal vehicle is
not an option for families that rely on public transit. Also,
given the trend of fair distribution of parenting
responsibilities, as compared with four decades ago, baby
changing tables should be available in both men's and women's
restrooms."
3)Requirements for baby diaper changing accommodations . There
is no current state requirement for the provision of baby
diaper changing accommodations, but there are some technical
standards in place for those facilities which choose to
install them. However, some localities have modified their
local building codes to require placement. In 1998, Florida's
Miami-Dade County adopted standards requiring new or
substantially renovated public-oriented establishments to
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install diaper-changing accommodations that are equally
accessible to women and men. San Francisco followed with
similar regulations in 2005.
SB 1358 would instead impose a statewide standard for government
buildings and privately-owned facilities open to the public,
and would preempt any conflicting local ordinances.
This bill also establishes a fine for restaurants which fail
to provide a clean and safe station. SB 1358 did not extend
the penalty to the other facilities because, according to the
author's office, local health officers currently impose a
similar fine on the failure of a restaurant to maintain
adequate toilet facilities, and extending this to other venues
would create additional mandates.
4)Arguments in support . Equal Rights Advocates write, "Baby
changing stations provide a safe and clean place to change the
diapers of young children. Without such stations in public
restrooms, a mother or father must resort to the countertop or
floor - untenable options for ensuring the health and welfare
of their child. A 2012 Google consumer survey highlights the
importance of baby changing stations; it suggests that
approximately 20% of the U. S. population uses baby changing
stations. Another study found that nearly 90% of parents
shopped or visited public places with their children and, of
these, 75% deliberately sought out establishments with
family-friendly accommodations."
5)Related legislation . SB 1350 (Lara) of 2014 directs the
Building Standards Commission, as part of the next triennial
update of the California Building Standards Code adopted after
January 1, 2015, to require that, if a baby changing station
is installed in a new or newly renovated restroom in a place
of public accommodation, the station be equally available
regardless of gender. This bill has been ordered to
engrossing and enrolling.
6)Prior version of the bill. The previous version of this bill
heard by this Committee in June also required that certain
publicly accessible buildings have stations, but by a
different means. That version would have required the
California Building Standards Commission to adopt mandatory
building standards for the installation of baby diaper
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changing accommodations in restroom facilities in public use
areas.
This bill instead places similar requirements in the Government
Code to affect state and locally-owned buildings, and in the
Health and Safety Code to affect various places of public
accommodation. The affected facilities will be required to
install and maintain a station accessible to men and women in
cases of new construction, or bathroom renovations for which a
permit has been obtained that estimates the cost of renovation
at $10,000 or more.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Academy of Pediatrics
Association of California Commissions on Women
Equal Rights Advocates
Equality California
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Sarah Huchel / B.,P. & C.P. / (916)
319-3301