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AB-1297 Public restrooms.(2023-2024)

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Date Published: 06/21/2023 09:00 PM
AB1297:v98#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Senate  June 21, 2023

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 1297

Introduced by Assembly Members Quirk-Silva and Haney
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Lackey)

February 16, 2023

An act to add and repeal Section 118501 of to the Health and Safety Code, relating to local government.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 1297, as amended, Quirk-Silva. Public restrooms.
Existing law requires every public agency, as defined, that conducts an establishment serving the public or open to the public and that maintains restroom facilities for the public, to make every water closet available without cost or charge, as provided. Existing law also requires publicly and privately owned facilities where the public congregates to be equipped with sufficient temporary or permanent restrooms to meet the needs of the public at peak hours.
This bill would require each local government, as defined, to complete an inventory of public restrooms owned and maintained by the local government, either directly or by contract, that are available to the general population in its jurisdiction by July 1, 2024. The bill would require local governments to report their findings to the State Department of Public Health, which would be required to compile the information and to make the inventory available in a searchable database on its internet website report the availability of public restrooms to the Legislature by March 1, 2025, as specified. The bill would require the database to be updated quarterly. The bill would require the department to conduct educational outreach to the general public and homelessness service providers that the database is available on its internet website. Legislature to consider the report when evaluating the public’s access to reliable public restrooms.
The bill would include findings that changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities, including charter cities.
By imposing additional duties on local governments, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 118501 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:

118501.
 (a) Each local government shall complete an inventory of accessible, permanent public restrooms, including single-occupancy restrooms, owned and maintained, either directly or by contract, by the local government that are available to the general population in its jurisdiction. The inventory shall include the physical address of each public restroom. Local governments shall provide the inventory to the State Department of Public Health not later than July 1, 2024, and quarterly thereafter. 2024.
(b) (1) The State Department of Public Health shall compile the information provided by local governments and shall develop and maintain a user-friendly database of the information that is searchable by ZIP Code on its public internet website not later than March 1, 2025. report to the Legislature, by March 1, 2025, the availability of public restrooms by county.

(A)The department shall update the database quarterly.

(B)The internet website shall contain a notice stating that the database does not guarantee the hours of operation or the accessibility of a listed restroom.

(2)The State Department of Public Health shall conduct educational outreach to the general public and to homelessness service providers that the searchable database is available on its internet website.

(2) The Legislature shall consider the information from this report when evaluating the public’s access to reliable public restrooms.
(c) (1) For purposes of this section, “local government” means a city, including a charter city, a county, a city and county, and a special district.
(2) For purposes of this section, “special district” means a library district established pursuant to Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 19400) or Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 19600) of Part 11 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code, or a park district as described in Section 5096.228 of the Public Resources Code.
(d) The Legislature finds and declares that this section, which ensures access to public restrooms, addresses a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair as that term is used in Section 5 of Article XI of the California Constitution. Therefore, this section applies to all cities, including charter cities.
(e) A report to be submitted pursuant to subdivision (b) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.

SEC. 2.

  If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.