What's happening
This bill requires most public buildings in New York to provide a private lactation room for breastfeeding or expressing milk.
Why it matters
Improves access and privacy for breastfeeding individuals. By mandating lactation rooms separate from bathrooms, the bill ensures breastfeeding parents have a hygienic, private, and comfortable space—potentially reducing stigma and supporting infant health.
Sets minimum standards for lactation rooms. The legislation defines specific requirements such as privacy, a chair, a working surface, and electrical outlets (where available), creating a consistent and supportive environment across public buildings.
Includes reasonable exemptions to avoid undue burdens. Buildings are exempt if they lack space that can be repurposed at reasonable cost, do not already provide employee lactation rooms, or would require unfeasible new construction—balancing public health with practical constraints for facilities.
Clarifies access without expanding building entry rights. The law does not grant new authorization to enter buildings; it only ensures lactation rooms are available to members of the public who are otherwise permitted inside, preventing unintended security or access issues.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Require Lactation Rooms Public Buildings
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to investigations and government operations
- Delivered to senate
- Passed assembly
- Ordered to third reading cal.473
- Returned to assembly
- Died in senate
- Referred to investigations and government operations
- Delivered to senate
- Passed assembly
- Advanced to third reading cal.354
- Reported
- Referred to governmental operations
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
6775
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 17, 2017
Introduced by M. of A. SOLAGES -- read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Operations
AN ACT to amend the public buildings law, in relation to requiring the establishment of lactation rooms in certain public buildings
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The public buildings law is amended by adding a new section 144 to read as follows:
§ 144. Lactation room in public buildings. 1. As used in this section:
(a) "covered public building" means a public building of the state of New York as described in section two of this chapter that is open to the public and contains a public restroom; and
(b) "lactation room" means a hygienic place, other than a bathroom, that:
(1) is shielded from view;
(2) is free from intrusion; and
(3) contains a chair, a working surface, and, if the public building is otherwise supplied with electricity, an electrical outlet.
2. A covered public building shall contain a lactation room that is made available for use by a member of the public to express breast milk.
3. A covered public building shall be excluded from the requirement of subdivision two of this section if the public building:
(a) does not contain a lactation room for employees who work in the building; and
(b) does not have a room that could be repurposed as a lactation room or a space that could be made private, at a reasonable cost; or
(c) new construction would be required to create a lactation room in the public building and the cost of such construction is unfeasible.
4. Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize an individual to enter a public building that the individual is not otherwise authorized to enter.
§ 2. This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08768-01-7
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.