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Single-User Toilet Facilities- CA

mark handler

mark handler

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Single-User Toilet Facilities in Any Business Establishment, Place of Public Accommodation, or Government Agency Must Be Identified as All-Gender
http://www.natlawreview.com/article...ness-establishment-place-public-accommodation
Thursday, March 9, 2017
California Assembly Bill No. 1732 (Ting, Chapter 818, Statutes of 2016) was signed into law on September 29, 2016, and went into effect on March 1, 2017. It added Section 118600 to Chapter 5 of Part 15 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code to require all single-user toilet facilities in any business establishment, place of public accommodation, or government agency to be identified as all-gender toilet facilities.

Owners and operators of establishments containing single-user toilet facilities should immediately change identification symbols to such facilities from gender-specific to all-gender. If a wall-mounted designation sign is provided at such facilities, the sign should comply in all respects with the requirements of Chapter 11B of the California Building Code (Cal. Code Regs., Tit. 24, Part 2) (CBC).

MANDATORY SIGNAGE REQUIREMENTS
Health and Safety Code Section 118600 provides as follows:

All single-user toilet facilities in any business establishment, place of public accommodation, or state or local government agency shall be identified as all-gender toilet facilities by signage that complies with Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations, and designated for use by no more than one occupant at a time or for family or assisted use.

During any inspection of a business or a place of public accommodation by an inspector, building official, or other local official responsible for code enforcement, the inspector or official may inspect for compliance with this section.

For the purposes of this section, “single-user toilet facility” means a toilet facility with no more than one water closet and one urinal with a locking mechanism controlled by the user.

This section shall become operative on March 1, 2017.

Signage Requirements

The applicable signage requirements of Title 24 can be found in Chapter 11B of the CBC, which requires that a sanitary facility that is all-gender have a geometric symbol on the door that is an equilateral triangle superimposed onto a circle, as depicted below. The all-gender symbol is the only specific indicator required to be provided by Chapter 11B for a toilet facility that is available for use by all individuals. No pictogram, text, or braille is required on the symbol.

CBC Chapter 11B does not require a wall mounted toilet facility designation sign; however, if word designations are included on the sign, it must comply with the technical requirements for visual characters, raised characters, braille, and must also comply with other accessibility requirements for installation height and location. Furthermore, a pictogram is not required to be provided; however, where a facility owner elects to identify a toilet facility with a pictogram, a text descriptor consisting of visual characters, raised characters, and braille is required to accompany the pictogram.

Door Symbol

The following image represents the door symbol that is required by CBC 11B-216.8 to identify an all-gender single-user toilet facility. The symbol must comply with the requirements of CBC 11B-703.7.2.6.3.

76C08D0ED8274D24BCA04E2E87F16AE1.png
 
Did Cali change the plumbing code and IBC to not require "separate facilities""

[P] 2902.2 Separate facilities. Where plumbing fixtures are
required, separate facilities shall be provided for each sex.
 
Note "Single-User"

IBC [P] 2902.2.1 Family or assisted-use toilet facilities serving as separate facilities. Where a building or tenant space requires a separate toilet facility for each sex and each toilet facility is required to have only one water closet, two family/assisted-use toilet facilities shall be permitted to serve as the required separate facilities. Family or assisted-use toilet facilities shall not be required to be identified for exclusive use by either sex as required by Section 2902.4.

[P] 2902.4 Signage. Required public facilities shall be designated by a legible sign for each sex. Signs shall be readily visible and located near the entrance to each toilet facility. Signs for accessible toilet facilities shall comply with Section 1110.
 
Why in the world is this a law? I mean, a State actually debated this on the open floor of an assembly of its government?

Why can't it just say "Restroom", like restroom signs all over the world say right now?

I don't mean too much offense, really, but you guys in Cali have some goofy politicians. o_O Don't worry though - our pols here in IL are trying their hardest to catch up with you.
 
JCraver: no offense taken. The reason it can't just state "restroom" is that we have a lot of people in our state who don't speak English and don't know what "restroom" is. But of course, there's no way they will know that this new symbol is, either. Like pcinspector1, those of us of a certain age definitely associate this with bomb shelters. I'm already working on some jokes about what kind of bombs will be dropped into these toilets.

It does get into a larger discussion about how much of culture can be regulated and resolved by laws and codes. For years we have had toilet rooms labeled "men" and "women", and it is has been socially acceptable (for example) to make an exception for a mom or dad to help take their opposite-gender child into the "wrong" restroom; and similarly with caregivers helping opposite-gendered persons with disabilities. It was enough to handle this at the level of social norms, and we didn't expect laws to cover every situation.
Conversely, restroom use has always involved all kinds of unwritten "rules" of acceptable behavior: for example, never look someone in the eyes while using a urinal; or with multiple empty stalls or urinals to choose from, don't pick one that is adjacent to the only other user.
Nobody teaches this stuff; you just know.

Now, however, we have an expectation that the socially complex yet unstated negotiation of toilet room use can somehow be successfully legislated and enforced, either in favor of or against changes in culture.
There is a limit to what can be accomplished by codes. At some point, we just have to learn how to be civil.

tmOCUp4.jpg
 
JC, in other countries they continue to use symbols and caricatures to indicate "who" the restroom is for, many are very creative.
It will be interesting to see how and if they and or the United Nations can come up with a universal symbol for Los Banos.
 
This is for a single-user restroom. Like, one person at a time. Just put a picture of a toilet on the door and people will figure it out.

I still can't believe that this was actually a topic for a State legislature. Good example of why governments should be part time - they shouldn't have time for make-work nonsense like this..
 
JCraver said:
I still can't believe that this was actually a topic for a State legislature. Good example of why governments should be part time - they shouldn't have time for make-work nonsense like this..
Click to expand...

The Montana Constitution dictates that the legislature meet in regular session for no longer than 90 days in each odd-numbered year.[1] The primary work of the legislature is to pass a balanced biennial budget which must then be approved by the Governor. If the Governor vetoes a bill, the legislature may override the veto by a two-thirds vote.[1]
Members are limited to serving no more than eight years in either chamber but the term limit is consecutive not lifetime

When I first moved to this state from FL I thought how can they get anything done. Well they do not waste a lot of time on ridiculous regulations. It works pretty good since they have to stay focused on more important matters
 
Yes, but they don't have as many people in your state, by all measure we are a country (smiling) and an economic engine for the US.
 
mtlogcabin said:
The Montana Constitution dictates that the legislature meet in regular session for no longer than 90 days in each odd-numbered year.[1] The primary work of the legislature is to pass a balanced biennial budget which must then be approved by the Governor. If the Governor vetoes a bill, the legislature may override the veto by a two-thirds vote.[1]
Members are limited to serving no more than eight years in either chamber but the term limit is consecutive not lifetime

When I first moved to this state from FL I thought how can they get anything done. Well they do not waste a lot of time on ridiculous regulations. It works pretty good since they have to stay focused on more important matters
Click to expand...


I'd give a lot, and I mean a LOT, to get that passed/added to the IL constitution. Maybe our State credit rating wouldn't be in junk status, and maybe we'd even have a budget. We for sure would have a bunch less wealthy Chicago politicians.
 
Most Starbucks have heretofore had a single accommodation male and single accommodation female room. Ladies, get used to urine on the seat and floor!

A "practical" (not code) question here: does that mean the former men's rooms will now need sanitary napkin dispensers to be installed?
 
The politicization of codes has now reached absurdity with bathroom law. The Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court has now asked the Department of Justice to stop enforcing Federal law in California, so if they are not going to enforce Immigration law they shouldn't enforce ADA and bathroom law.

California Courts said:
Dear Attorney General Sessions and Secretary Kelly:

As Chief Justice of California responsible for the safe and fair delivery of justice in our state, I am deeply concerned about reports from some of our trial courts that immigration agents appear to be stalking undocumented immigrants in our courthouses to make arrests.¹
Click to expand...

“The hallmark of authoritarian systems is the creation of innumerable, indecipherable laws. Such systems make everyone an un-indicted felon and allow for the exercise of arbitrary government power via selective prosecution.”

- Ayn Rand -​


¹ http://newsroom.courts.ca.gov/news/...enforcement-tactics-at-california-courthouses
 
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