Bill would make Nevada buildings provide place to change diapers in public
CARSON CITY — Changing a poopy diaper in public would be much easier for parents under a bill considered Monday by an Assembly committee.
Assembly Bill 241 would require buildings open to the public, including private businesses such as restaurants, to install baby-changing stations in restrooms when a new building is constructed or an existing structure is brought up to code under the Americans With Disabilities Act.
Assemblyman Justin Watkins, D-Las Vegas, presented the bill to the Assembly Government Affairs Committee, which took no immediate action on the measure.
A changing station is typically a table that folds down, providing a flat surface to use to change a baby’s diaper.
Watkins said his children are past the age where changing tables are necessary but memories of frustrations when such stations were not available in men’s restrooms remain fresh.
“Dads participate more and we should support that,” he said.
Elisa Cafferata, a lobbyist with Planned Parenthood, testified in support of the measure. With four children, Cafferata said there have been instances when she had to change a diaper on a bathroom floor because no changing table was available.
While the bill is not intended to cover a business without a public restroom, Jonathan Leleu, a lobbyist representing the Commercial Real Estate Development Association, said the measure as written is too broad.
Leleu said his reading of the bill suggests that every restroom in every building, including those with nonpublic restrooms, would be covered by the measure. It makes no sense to cover a 21-and-over video poker bar, for example, he said.
It also does not define what a baby-diaper changing facility is, Leleu said. Is it a $100 table or something more extravagant that would cost much more, he asked.
Leleu said he is willing to work on amendments to the measure to make it more workable for private businesses, but as written it “seems very arduous.”
Watkins said the bill is intended to provide a policy direction to county and municipal governments that create and adopt building codes. Many of Leleu’s concerns would be addressed at that level, he said.
Contact Sean Whaley at swhaley@reviewjournal.com or 775-461-3820. Follow @seanw801 on Twitter.
