| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to providing for restroom access for persons with certain |
|
|
medical conditions; providing a criminal penalty. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the Restroom Access Act. |
|
|
SECTION 2. Subchapter D, Chapter 341, Health and Safety |
|
|
Code, is amended by adding Section 341.069 to read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 341.069. ACCESS TO RESTROOM FACILITIES. (a) In this |
|
|
section: |
|
|
(1) "Customer" means an individual who is lawfully on |
|
|
the premises of a retail establishment. |
|
|
(2) "Eligible medical condition" means Crohn's |
|
|
disease, ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, or any other |
|
|
permanent or temporary medical condition that requires immediate |
|
|
access to a toilet facility. |
|
|
(3) "Physician" has the meaning assigned by Section |
|
|
151.002, Occupations Code. |
|
|
(4) "Retail establishment" means a place of business |
|
|
open to the general public for the sale of goods or services. |
|
|
(b) A retail establishment that has a toilet facility for |
|
|
its employees shall allow a customer to use the toilet facility |
|
|
during normal business hours if: |
|
|
(1) the retail establishment does not have a public |
|
|
restroom that is immediately accessible to the customer; |
|
|
(2) the employee toilet facility is not located in an |
|
|
area where providing access would create an obvious health or |
|
|
safety risk to the customer or an obvious security risk to the |
|
|
retail establishment; |
|
|
(3) the customer requesting use of the employee toilet |
|
|
facility provides the retail establishment with evidence of the |
|
|
customer's eligible medical condition including: |
|
|
(A) a copy of a statement signed by a physician on |
|
|
a prescription form that indicates the customer suffers from an |
|
|
eligible medical condition or uses an ostomy device; or |
|
|
(B) an identification card that is issued by a |
|
|
nationally recognized health organization or a local health |
|
|
department and that indicates the customer suffers from an eligible |
|
|
medical condition or uses an ostomy device; and |
|
|
(4) three or more employees of the retail |
|
|
establishment are working and physically present on the premises of |
|
|
the retail establishment at the time the customer requests to use |
|
|
the employee toilet facility. |
|
|
(c) An employee of a retail establishment who refuses to |
|
|
provide a customer with access to an employee toilet facility as |
|
|
required by this section commits an offense. An offense under this |
|
|
section is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $100. |
|
|
(d) A retail establishment is not required to make any |
|
|
physical changes to an employee toilet facility under this section. |
|
|
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2007. |