AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 23, 2022

AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 22, 2022

AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 19, 2022

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

94

CHAPTER 839

Statutes of 2022

[ Approved by Governor September 29, 2022. Filed with Secretary of State September 29, 2022. ]

Introduced by Senator Allen

February 17, 2022

An act to add and repeal Section 118507 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to local government.

Vote: majority   Appropriation: no   Fiscal committee: no   Local program: no

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

Existing law requires a public agency, as defined, that serves the public or is open to the public and maintains toilet facilities to make those facilities available to the public free of charge. Existing law, the California Building Standards Law, establishes the California Building Standards Commission within the Department of General Services. Existing law requires the commission to approve and adopt building standards and to codify those standards in the California Building Standards Code.

This bill would authorize a city, county, or city and county to require, by ordinance or resolution, that public restrooms constructed within its jurisdiction be designed to serve all genders, as specified, instead of complying with the plumbing standards set forth in the California Building Standards Code. This authority will become inoperative and be repealed on the date that standards that address all gender multiuser facilities take effect in the California Building Standards Code.

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

SECTION 1.

Section 118507 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:

118507.

(a) Notwithstanding Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 401.0) of the California Plumbing Code (Part 5 of Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations), a city, county, or city and county may require new or renovated public toilet facilities within its jurisdiction to be designed, constructed, and identified for use by all genders instead of the design standards for separate facilities for men and women found in the applicable provisions in Chapter 4 of the California Plumbing Code.

If a city, county, or city and county exercises the authority provided in this subdivision, it shall do so by adopting an ordinance or resolution.

(b) (1) Signs in compliance with Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations shall identify the restrooms for use by all genders.

(2) Single-user toilet facilities shall comply with the requirements of Part 5 of Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations.

(3) In multiuser toilet facilities, lavatories shall be located either in toilet rooms or grouped in an immediately adjacent common use area accessible to all users.

(c) This section shall become inoperative on the date that standards that address all-gender, multiuser facilities take effect in the California Building Standards Code (Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations) and as of that date this section is repealed.