What's happening
This bill requires airports in New York with over 10,000 enplanements to provide private lactation rooms in passenger terminals.
Why it matters
Ensures privacy and accessibility for breastfeeding parents. by mandating lactation rooms be located past security and outside of restrooms, making it significantly easier for traveling parents to pump or breastfeed in a clean, private, and accessible space.
Sets infrastructure standards for airports of different sizes. larger airports (over one million enplanements) must provide lactation rooms with a chair and electrical outlet immediately, and a sink when new terminals are built or renovated; smaller airports (over 10,000 enplanements) must include all three (chair, outlet, sink) in new or renovated terminals, ensuring consistent, functional amenities across the state.
Ties requirements to future construction and major renovations. , which means the law is designed to be practical, cost-effective, and gradually implemented, encouraging compliance without placing heavy retrofitting burdens on existing facilities.
Coordinates with New Jersey for Port Authority airports. , meaning the law’s provisions for major bi-state airports (like JFK, LaGuardia, Newark) only take effect if New Jersey passes a matching law, ensuring uniform standards and avoiding regulatory patchwork across state lines.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Require Airport Lactation Rooms
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
History
- Reported and committed to finance
- Print number 1817c
- Amend and recommit to health
- Print number 1817b
- Amend (t) and recommit to health
- Referred to health
- Print number 1817a
- Amend (t) and recommit to health
- Referred to health
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Require Airport Lactation Rooms
In Senate Committee · Rules · Sponsor Michaelle C. Solages
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
1817--C
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 11, 2017
Introduced by Sens. KENNEDY, COMRIE, HOYLMAN, KAMINSKY, PARKER, PERALTA, RANZENHOFER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Health -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee -- recommitted to the Committee on Health in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the public health law and chapter 802 of the laws of
1947 relating to facilitating the financing and effectuation of air terminals by the Port of New York Authority, in relation to requiring certain lactation accommodations in airports
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "lactation accommodation in airports act".
§ 2. The public health law is amended by adding a new section 2505-b to read as follows:
§ 2505-b. Lactation accommodations in airports. 1. The terminal operator of a commercial service airport owned or operated by a county, city, town, village, or state or local authority that has one million or more enplanements a year shall provide a room or other location at each airport passenger terminal behind the airport security screening area for members of the public to express breast milk in private that meets the following conditions:
(a) includes, at a minimum, a chair and an electrical outlet;
(b) is located outside of the confines of a public restroom; and
(c) upon completion of the construction of a new passenger terminal, or the replacement, expansion, or renovation of an existing passenger terminal, includes a sink.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01014-12-8
S. 1817--C 2
2. The terminal operator of a commercial service airport owned or operated by a county, city, town, village, or state or local authority that has fewer than one million, but more than ten thousand enplanements a year shall, upon completion of the construction of a new passenger terminal, or the replacement, expansion, or renovation of an existing passenger terminal, provide a room or other location at each airport passenger terminal behind the airport security screening area for members of the public to express breast milk in private that meets the following conditions:
(a) includes, at a minimum, a chair, a sink, and an electrical outlet; and
(b) is located outside of the confines of a public restroom.
3. As used in this section, "renovation of an existing passenger terminal" means the repurposing of more than twenty-five percent of the space in the passenger terminal.
§ 3. Chapter 802 of the laws of 1947 relating to facilitating the financing and effectuation of air terminals by the Port of New York Authority is amended by adding a new section 4-b to read as follows:
§ 4-b. Lactation accommodations in airports. 1. Any airport maintained or operated by the Port Authority that has one million or more enplanements a year shall provide a room or other location at each airport passenger terminal behind the terminal security screening area for members of the public to express breast milk in private that meets the following conditions:
(a) includes, at a minimum, a chair and an electrical outlet;
(b) is located outside of the confines of a public restroom; and
(c) upon completion of the construction of a new passenger terminal, or the replacement, expansion, or renovation of an existing passenger terminal, includes a sink.
2. Any airport maintained or operated by the Port Authority that has fewer than one million but more than ten thousand enplanements a year shall, upon completion of the construction of a new passenger terminal, or the replacement, expansion, or renovation of an existing passenger terminal, provide a room or other location at each airport passenger terminal behind the terminal security screening area for members of the public to express breast milk in private that meets the following conditions:
(a) includes, at a minimum, a chair, a sink, and an electrical outlet; and
(b) is located outside of the confines of a public restroom.
3. As used in this section, "renovation of an existing passenger terminal" means the repurposing of more than twenty-five percent of the space in the passenger terminal.
§ 4. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law, provided, however, section three of this act shall take effect upon the enactment into law by the state of New Jersey of legislation having an identical effect with this act but if the state of New Jersey shall have already enacted such legislation, then this act shall take effect immediately. The chairperson of the port authority shall notify the legislative bill drafting commission upon the enactment into law of such legislation by both such states in order that the commission may maintain an accurate and timely effective data base of the official text of the laws of the state of New York in furtherance of effecting the provisions of section 44 of the legislative law and section 70-b of the public officers law.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the public health law and chapter 802 of the laws of 1947 relating to facilitating the financing and effectua- tion of air terminals by the Port of New York Authority, in relation to requiring certain lactation accommodations in airports
Purpose or general idea of bill
This bill would require airports to provide a nursing space for breast- feeding mothers behind the security screening area equipped with a chair and an electrical outlet away from public view.
Summary of specific provisions
Section 1 states that this act shall be known and may be cited as the "lactation accommodation in airports act".
Section 2 amends the public health law by adding a new section 2505-b, titled "lactation accommodations in airports". This section outlines the requirements of commercial service airports in regards to providing lactation accommodations.
Section 3 amends Chapter 802 of the laws of 1947, which outlines the lactation accommodations an airport operated by the Port Authority is required to provide.
Section 4 is the enacting clause.
Justification
One of the greatest struggles for breastfeeding mothers is the lack of accommodations to express milk and feed their children in public places. Women have lobbied and fought for years to establish lactation rooms in their places of employment and public facilities. Only recently have states begun to pass laws that help ensure that mothers have a private place to nurse their children and pump breast milk.
There currently exists a law regarding the rights of breastfeeding moth- ers (New York Public Health Law § 2505-a). Specifically, section 3 of that law states that breastfeeding mothers "have the right to breastfeed your baby in any location, public or private, where you are otherwise authorized to be."
This bill would expand upon current law, which already provides for the allowance of breastfeeding in public or private, by seeking to make New York's airports nursing friendly and to build public accommodation for breastfeeding mothers.
Prior legislative history
2015-16: S.6026 Reported and Committed to Transportation/ A.7989 Passed Assembly
Fiscal implications
To be determined.
Legislative information
This act shall take effect 30 days after enactment.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.