BILL NUMBER:S7153

TITLE OF BILL:
An act
to amend the public health law, in relation to enacting the restroom
access act

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To make toilet facilities that are
for employee use only, in places of business open to the general
public, accessible to those who have an eligible medical condition
such as Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, or other medical
conditions that require immediate access to a bathroom.

SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section one provides that this act
shall be known and may be cited as "The Restroom Access Act."

Section two amends the public health law by adding a new article 19.
Section 1900 of article nineteen provides the definition for "eligible
medical condition." Section 1901 of article nineteen provides that a
place of business that is open to the general public and has a toilet
facility for its employees shall allow a person who is lawfully on
the premises during normal business hours access to the employee
toilet facility as long as the person requesting use of the employee
toilet has an eligible medical condition or utilizes an ostomy
              

device, provided that the place of business may require the
individual to present reasonable evidence that he or she has an
eligible medical condition or uses an ostomy device; two or more
employees of the place of business are working at the time the
individual requests use of the employee toilet facility; the place of
business does not normally make the employee toilet facility
available to the public; the employee toilet facility is located in
an area where there would be no obvious health, safety or security
risk; and a public restroom is not immediately accessible to the
requesting person. Section 1902 of article nineteen provides that a
place of business open to the public for the sale of goods or
services is not required to make physical changes to its employee
toilet facility.

Section three provides the effective date.

JUSTIFICATION:
Increasing numbers of people are being diagnosed with
inflammatory bowel diseases. It is estimated that over 600,000
Americans Suffer from Crohn's disease alone, which is an ongoing
disorder of the gastrointestinal tract. It causes swelling of the
intestines, creating pain and diarrhea. People who suffer from such
diseases often need urgent and sudden access to a toilet facility.

In Illinois, a teenaged girl named Ally Sain, who has Crohn's disease,
had a humiliating incident in public when she was denied access to an
employee-only restroom. She was, bravely, instrumental in the passage
of
Illinois's Restroom Access Act, also known as Ally's Law. In addition
to Illinois, eleven other states have passed the Restroom Access Act:
Texas, Wisconsin, Connecticut, Minnesota, Michigan, Washington,
Tennessee, Colorado, Ohio, Kentucky, and Oregon. Legislation is
currently pending in several other states.

This legislation creates a compassionate system for those who suffer
from gastrointestinal diseases by making it possible for those who
have an eligible medical condition, as defined in the bill, to have
access to an employee-only toilet facility in a place of business
that is already open to the public when there are at least two
employees working at the time of the request, and using that facility
would not create a health, safety, or security risk.

This legislation would not create any additional cost to businesses as
they are not required to alter their toilet facility. Also, a
business would not be required to provide access to their toilet
facility when another facility is immediately accessible to the
requesting person.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A.807, 2009 and 2010 referred to health.
A.10058, 2008 referred to health. Same as S.7138, 2008 referred to
health

FISCAL IMPLICATION:
None.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the one hundred
twentieth day after it shall become law, provided that the addition,
amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the
implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized and
directed to be made and completed on or before such effective date.