What's happening
This bill prohibits businesses from requiring people to be paying customers to access public restrooms, with a penalty for violations.
Why it matters
Expands restroom access for everyone. , including vulnerable groups such as children, pregnant individuals, people with medical conditions, and the homeless, who may not be able to make a purchase just to use a restroom.
Shifts responsibility for public sanitation onto businesses offering public restrooms. , potentially increasing their operational costs and obligations, but also standardizing customer treatment.
Introduces a financial deterrent for non-compliance. , with a civil penalty up to $500 per violation, which could motivate businesses to change their restroom access policies and reduce discriminatory or exclusionary practices.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Open Public Restrooms to All
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Referred to economic development
- Referred to economic development
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
6852
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 22, 2017
Introduced by M. of A. ENGLEBRIGHT, ABINANTI -- read once and referred to the Committee on Economic Development
AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to access to public restrooms
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new section 399-ii to read as follows:
§ 399-ii. Public restroom access. 1. No person, firm, partnership, association, limited liability company, corporation or other business entity that offers access to restroom facilities to the public shall require, as a condition for such access, that such person be a paying customer of such business.
2. A violation of the provisions of this section shall be punishable by a civil penalty not to exceed five hundred dollars for each violation.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03591-01-7
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.