80th Legislature: When You Gotta Go, You Gotta Go!

With all of the seriousness of the speaker’s race (and this being Friday and all), we thought it was time for some Legislative Levity.

Folks, there is a bathroom bill filed this legislation.

But, before you start hootin’ & hollerin’ thinking this is the Sexy Cheerleader Bill of 2006, consider that this legislation (the “Restroom Access Act”) is actually something serious for folks with some disorders and diseases, and something that I thought was actually the law already (I’ll explain in a moment).

Representative Mark Strama (D-Austin) has introduced HB 416 which would require that citizens with medical conditions such as Chron’s Disease, colitis and some temporary pressing medical conditions like pregnancy be allowed to use employee’s only restrooms in public places.

[Media Coverage: here, here]

exas would join two other states that mandate access to employee-only restrooms for anyone with a pressing medical condition, including pregnancy, under a legislative proposal.

A ten-year-old girl lobbying for the legislation who suffers from Chron’s Disease has been denied access to restrooms before:

Catherine, a home-schooled fifth-grader, said she’s been denied access to employee-only restrooms six times, mainly in clothing stores.

“I’d have to run to another store,” she said. In one instance, Catherine said, she sprinted through a restaurant past diners and workers who were “wondering why I was running in a restaurant without eating.”

What happened to little Catherine is simply insane. If you tell a store manager you have a condition like this, and you are TEN YEARS OLD, they should let you use the restroom. Making it the law is a good thing.

I actually thought this was already the law in Texas, for the most part. For years, I’d been under the misconception that almost all public places in Texas were required to have public restrooms under the Health and Safety Code, the Administrative Code, or other statutes. Evidently, though, aside from certain facilities specified in state statue, that’s left up to the cities that issue building permits.

Noticing the increased number of places without public restrooms in recent years (as the vast majority seemed to be retail outlets), I assumed it all had to do with “loss prevention” and shoplifting and that it simply wasn’t a priority of anyone in government to file criminal charges against a n Old Navy or Gap without a public bathroom.

It isn’t however, the law that all public places have public restrooms. I really think it should be (it’s really a matter of public health & safety to a great degree), so Strama’s bill is a good move.

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