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A5728Assembly2019-2020 Session

Require Public Restroom Access

Official title

“Prohibits a business from limiting access to its public restrooms to paying customers of such business”

Sponsor Steven EnglebrightAD-4+1 co-sponsorAffects Economy
Status
In Assembly Committee
Economic Development
Impact
6/10
Moderate
Passage
0%

Bill progress

Step 2 of 7

In committee · Economic Development

What's happening

This bill prohibits businesses from requiring people to be paying customers to access public restrooms, with fines for violations.

Why it matters

  1. Expands restroom access. This bill ensures that anyone can use a business’s public restroom, regardless of whether they intend to make a purchase, which could especially benefit children, elderly individuals, pregnant people, and those with medical conditions.

  2. Addresses public health and dignity. By removing the “paying customer only” barrier, the bill aims to reduce situations where individuals might be forced to relieve themselves outdoors or in unsafe conditions, improving public cleanliness and dignity.

  3. Creates a uniform statewide rule. Businesses will no longer be able to set their own policies requiring purchases for restroom use, ensuring consistent access across New York and preventing confusion or discrimination at individual locations.

  4. Imposes financial consequences for noncompliance. With fines up to $500 per violation, the bill gives real enforcement power to the rule, incentivizing businesses to comply and offering a mechanism for accountability.

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Who cares

Headline styles

Require Public Restroom Access

Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.

Sponsors

Primary sponsor
Steven Englebright

Assembly Member · Assembly District 4

1 Co-sponsor

History

  1. Referred to economic development
  2. Referred to economic development

Full text

1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗

STATE OF NEW YORK

5728

2019-2020 Regular Sessions

IN ASSEMBLY

February 14, 2019

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.

LBD09751-01-9

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.