BILL ANALYSIS �
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 1358
Author: Wolk (D) and Lara (D)
Amended: 8/25/14
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 8-2, 4/29/14
AYES: DeSaulnier, Gaines, Beall, Cannella, Hueso, Lara, Liu,
Pavley
NOES: Galgiani, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Roth
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 5/19/14
AYES: De Le�n, Walters, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
SENATE FLOOR : 29-1, 5/23/14
AYES: Beall, Block, Cannella, Corbett, Correa, De Le�n,
DeSaulnier, Gaines, Galgiani, Hernandez, Hill, Huff, Jackson,
Knight, Lara, Leno, Lieu, Liu, Mitchell, Monning, Nielsen,
Padilla, Pavley, Roth, Steinberg, Torres, Vidak, Walters, Wolk
NOES: Anderson
NO VOTE RECORDED: Berryhill, Calderon, Evans, Fuller, Hancock,
Hueso, Morrell, Wright, Wyland, Yee
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : Not Available
SUBJECT : Baby changing stations
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill requires buildings owned or partially owned
CONTINUED
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by state or local governments, as well as other private
buildings open to the public, as specified, to maintain at least
one safe, sanitary, and convenient baby diaper changing station
(station) that is accessible to women and men.
Assembly Amendments revise and recast the bill to apply to state
owned buildings, as specified, permanent food facilities,
theaters and movie houses, grocery stores, exhibition halls,
libraries, convention centers, sports arenas, auditoriums,
cultural complexes, exhibition halls, passenger terminals,
permanent amusement park structures, restaurants with a seating
capacity of at least 50 seats, shopping centers of more than
25,000 square feet, tourist attractions, or retail stores of
more than 5,000 square feet.
ANALYSIS : The California Building Standards Law establishes
the Building Standards Commission (BSC) and the process for
adopting state building codes. Under this process, relevant
state agencies propose amendments to model building codes, which
the BSC must then adopt, modify, or reject. For example, the
Department of Housing and Community Development is the relevant
state agency for residential building codes. The Office of
Statewide Health Planning and Development is responsible for
hospitals and clinics, and the Division of the State Architect
is the relevant agency for schools and emergency service
buildings. Not all buildings fall under the jurisdiction of a
relevant state agency. Most commercial, industrial, and
manufacturing structures are considered "local buildings," for
which local governments may determine applicable building
standards. With respect to green building standards, however,
existing law gives the BSC the authority to adopt building
standards for these local buildings.
Every three years, the BSC adopts a new version of the
California Building Code, known as the triennial update. State
agencies begin with a model code developed by a national
code-writing entity. They then propose amendments to the model
codes to reflect California needs and priorities and submit to
the BSC the amended model codes. The BSC must then adopt,
modify, or reject the proposed building standards.
Existing law also requires permanent food facilities to provide
toilet facilities for consumers, guests, or invitees where there
is onsite consumption of foods or if the food facility has more
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than 20,000 square feet of floor space and was constructed after
July 1, 1984. In addition, all permanent food facilities must
provide hand washing facilities. A violation of these
provisions is a misdemeanor.
Existing law also requires all publicly and privately owned
facilities where the public congregates to be equipped with
sufficient temporary or permanent restrooms to meet the needs of
the public at peak hours.
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.
1.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
accessible to women and men, if the facility is open to the
public.
2.Exempts the following locations from the station requirement:
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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.
1.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.
2.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.
3.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.
4.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.
5.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
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
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specified provisions of this bill.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
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 will
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 will likely not be significant in
any fiscal year and will be borne by numerous different state
funds.
This 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 may
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 jurisdictions will submit a mandate claim
for their costs.
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/28/14)
American Academy of Pediatrics, California
Association of California Commissions for Women
Equal Rights Advocates
Equality California
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author:
"Baby changing stations provide a safe and clean place to change
babies' diapers. Diaper-changing areas should be included in
both men's and women's restrooms to make it easier for fathers
as well as mothers to assist with child care. Parents who
change their babies' diapers while away from home often find the
availability of public restrooms problematic and difficult to
find. This forces parents to change their babies' diapers on
dirty bathroom floors where they pick up germs. Some parents
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give up and prefer to change their infants in their cars, an
option not possible for those who take public transit.
A 2013 study conducted by the Pew Charitable Trusts on modern
parenting found that parenting responsibilities are more equally
distributed between partners than ever before, with fathers
spending triple the amount of time with their children now than
in 1965.
A national market study found that nearly 90% of parents shopped
or visited public places with their children and, of these, 75%
deliberately sought out establishments that have family friendly
accommodations. Parents visited places with child
accommodations and amenities more often and spent more time
there. Accommodating families with small children is in the
best interest of the health and well-being of babies and
parents."
JA:e 8/29/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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