HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STAFF ANALYSIS
BILL #: CS/HB 1521 Facility Requirements Based on Sex
SPONSOR(S): Regulatory Reform & Economic Development Subcommittee, Plakon and others
TIED BILLS: IDEN./SIM. BILLS: SB 1674
REFERENCE ACTION ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR or
BUDGET/POLICY CHIEF
1) Regulatory Reform & Economic Development 11 Y, 3 N, As CS Hamon Hamon
Subcommittee
2) Commerce Committee 14 Y, 5 N Hamon Hamon
SUMMARY ANALYSIS
Currently, Florida law does not address whether businesses, schools, hospitals or prisons are required to
provide separate restrooms or changing rooms for people based on their sex. However, the Florida Building
Code does require that certain businesses that are open to the public, like public lodging establishments and
restaurants, have at least one restroom open to the public. In addition, Florida does not currently make it a
crime for a person of one sex to enter a restroom or changing room intended for use by the opposite sex.
The bill:
 Creates the “Safety in Private Spaces Act.”
 Requires public and private sector covered entities that maintain a restroom or changing facility to have
restrooms separately designated for males and females or a unisex restroom or changing facility.
 Limits instances when a person may enter a restroom or changing facility designated for the opposite
sex to the following circumstances:
o For assisting or chaperoning a minor child, elderly person, or disabled person.
o For law enforcement or governmental regulatory purposes.
o For emergency situations.
o For custodial, maintenance, or inspection purposes, if not in use.
o If the appropriate designated restroom or changing facility is out of order or under repair and the
opposite designated restroom or changing facility contains no person of the opposite sex.
 Makes it a second degree misdemeanor for a person 18 years of age or older to willfully enter a
restroom or changing facility designated for the opposite sex and refuse to immediately depart.
 Requires educational institutions to establish disciplinary procedures for violators under 18 years old.
 Requires all covered entities who must be licensed to operate in the state to submit documentation
regarding compliance with restroom and changing facilities requirements, as applicable, upon initial or
renewal application for licensure, after July 1, 2023.
 Requires domestic violence centers and correctional institutions to provide separate accommodations
for females and males, based on their sex.
 Makes covered entities who fail to comply with such requirements subject to penalties and licensure or
regulatory disciplinary action.
 Exempts individuals born with certain verifiable disorders of sex development.
 Authorizes the Attorney General to bring a civil action to enforce these provisions against any covered
entity, to seek injunctive relief, and to impose a fine of up to $10,000 for any covered entity found to
have willfully violated such provisions.
 Directs fines collected to be deposited in the General Revenue Fund.
The bill may have an indeterminate fiscal impact on state and local government and the private sector.
The effective date of the bill is July 1, 2023.
This docum ent does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill sponsor or House of Representatives .
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DATE: 4/12/2023
 FULL ANALYSIS
I. SUBSTANTIVE ANALYSIS
A. EFFECT OF PROPOSED CHANGES:
Current Situation
Restrooms and Building Codes
Until roughly 1850, there were no indoor toilet facilities in America. Everyone used outdoor restrooms to
meet basic human needs, which were mostly single-user and not sex-designated. The first regulation
requiring separate restroom facilities for men and women was passed in 1887 by Massachusetts, which
required the establishment of separate restrooms in businesses. “Wherever male and female persons
are employed in the same factory or workshop, a significant number of separate and distinct water-
closets, earth-closets, or privies shall be provided for the use of each sex and should be plainly
designated.” Mixed use of such facilities was also specifically prohibited in some states. Over the
course of the next thirty years, almost every state passed its own provision for separate restrooms for
men and women.1 Historians indicate that these laws were based on the social norms of the times and
the intention to protect women.2
These requirements were carried over in building codes throughout the U.S. 3 Building codes in the U.S.
provide a mechanism for the uniform adoption, updating, interpretation, and enforcement of uniform
building standards. Typically, restroom requirements are based on a public building’s capacity to
determine how many restrooms should be built. Most codes mandate a minimum number of toilets and
urinals per sex. Previously, these requirements resulted in more facilities being made available for men
than for women, resulting in famously long lines for ladies’ rooms, which lead to “Potty Parity” laws.4
Florida’s law required three women’s toilets for every two for men in certain facilities.5 After various
changes over the years, Florida has settled on incorporating the International Plumbing Code into the
state building code which sets the number of toilets for the expected public use and size of a facility --
usually two female toilets for every one male depending on occupancy.6
The Florida Building Code provides that where plumbing fixtures are required, usually based on being
open to the public, separate facilities must be provided for each sex7 with correct signage8, with certain
exceptions.9 For example, family or assisted-use toilet facilities are permitted to serve as the required
separate facilities and are not required to be identified for exclusive use by either sex. 10 Single-user
toilet facilities and bathing rooms, and family or assisted-use toilet and bathing rooms, must be
identified for use by either sex.11
Requirements for restrooms may differ depending on the type of building or business. For example:
The Florida Building Code requires swimming pools with a bathing load of 20 persons or less to utilize
a unisex restroom. Pools with bathing loads of 40 persons or less may utilize two unisex restrooms or
1 TIME, Maya Rhodan, Why Do We Have Men's and Women's Bathrooms Anyway?, May 16, 2016,
https://time.com/4337761/h istory-sex-segregated-bathrooms/ (last visited Mar. 22, 2023).
2 Id. During this same period, separate facilities were required in almost every area of society for women’s safety. For example:
women’s reading rooms, and women’s train cars.
3 Suellen Hoy, Chasing Dirt, The American Pursuit of Cleanliness, Oxford University Press, Oct. 10, 1996.
4 New York Times, John Brach, New Ballpark Statistic: Stadium’s Toilet Ratio, April 12, 2009,
https://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/ 13/sports/baseball/13potty.html?auth=login-google1tap&login=google1tap (last visited on Mar.
22, 2023).
5 S. 553.141 (1997).
6 American Restroom Association, Potty Parity, Overview, https://americanrestroom.org/potty-parity/ (last visited Mar. 22, 2023). See
also, s. 553.86, F.S.
7 S. 553.86, F.S.
8 S. 403.4, F.B.C.
9 S. 403.2, F.B.C.
10 S. 403.2.1, F.B.C.
11 S. 403.1.2, F.B.C.
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 meet the requirements based on square footage. Each such restroom must include a water closet, a
diaper change table, a urinal, and a lavatory. Pools with a bathing load larger than 40 persons must
provide separate sanitary facilities labeled for each sex.12
Some states have specifically adopted laws related to restrooms and who is permitted to use them. For
example: In 2016, North Carolina enacted the Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act (Act). The Act
preempted any anti-discrimination ordinances passed by local communities and compelled schools and
state and local government facilities containing single-gender restrooms to only allow people of the
corresponding sex as listed on their birth certificate to use them. 13 In 2017, the portion of the Act
regarding restroom use was repealed and, in 2020, the portion that prohibited local governments from
passing anti-discrimination ordinances was sunset.14
Restrooms in Florida’s Public Lodging and Public Food Service Establishments
The Division of Hotels and Restaurants (Division) within the Department of Business and Professional
Regulation (DBPR) is charged with enforcing the provisions of ch. 509, F.S., and all other applicable
laws relating to the inspection and regulation of public lodging establishments and public food service
establishments 15 for the purpose of protecting the public health, safety, and welfare. 16 Public lodging
establishments are classified as a hotel, motel, vacation rental, nontransient apartment, transient
apartment, bed and breakfast inn, or timeshare project.17
According to Florida laws and regulations governing hotels and restaurants, each public lodging
establishment and each public food service establishment in the state is required to maintain public
restroom facilities in accordance with the Florida Building Code as approved by the local building
authority,18 and must meet the following requirements:
 Each transient establishment that does not provide private or connecting restrooms shall
maintain one public restroom on each floor for every 15 guests, or major fraction of that number,
rooming on that floor.19
 Each public lodging establishment and public food service establishment must be supplied with
potable water and provide adequate sanitary facilities for the accommodation of its employees
and guests. Such facilities may include, but are not limited to, showers, handwash basins,
toilets, and bidets, and must be connected to approved plumbing in accordance with the Florida
Building Code as approved by the local building authority.20
 Each public lodging establishment and public food service establishment is required to provide
at least one conveniently located restroom facility for its employees and guests as approved by
the local building authority having jurisdiction.21
 Public access to restroom facilities may not be permitted through food preparation, storage, or
ware washing areas.22
 Restroom fixtures must be of readily cleanable sanitary design. Restroom facilities must be kept
clean, in good repair and free from objectionable odors. Restrooms must provide at least 20 foot
candles of light. The walls, ceilings and floors of all restroom facilities shall be kept in good
condition.23
12 S. 403.6, F.B.C.
13 North Carolina General Assembly, House Bill 2/SL 2016-3, https://www.ncleg.gov/BillLookup/2015E2/H2 (last visited Mar. 20,
2023).
14 North Carolina General Assembly, House Bill 142/SL 2017-4, https://www.ncleg.gov/BillLookup/2017/h142 (last visited Mar. 20,
2023).
15 S. 509.013(5)(a), F.S.
16 S. 509.241, F.S.
17 S. 509.242(1), F.S.
18 S. 509.221(2)(a), F.S.
19 S. 509.221(2)(c), F.S.
20 S. 509.221(1), F.S.
21 R. 61C-1.004, F.A.C.
22 Id.
23 Id.
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  Restrooms must be completely enclosed and have tight-fitting, self-closing doors, except
restrooms located in public lodging establishments or located outside a public food service
establishment, may have entrances and exits constructed in such a manner as to ensure
privacy of occupants. Restroom doors shall not be left open except during cleaning or
maintenance. Handwashing signs must be posted in each restroom used by employees.24
 In a restroom where more than one toilet is provided, each toilet must be separated by a
partition from adjoining fixtures and a door shall be provided which will partially conceal the
occupant from outside view.25
 Nontransient establishments, vacation rentals, and timeshare projects are exempt from the
provisions of this subsection.26
Family Restrooms
According to the American Restroom Association, ADA accessible single-stall restrooms are important
for people living with “special needs.” These restrooms allow people with special needs to visit
museums, parks, theaters, libraries and other public places. 27 Family style, unisex, or single-user
restrooms (often called handicapped restrooms) offer flexibility. Males or females, and one or more
individuals (i.e. family members), of the same or opposite sex, can use them. They can also provide
such amenities as two toilets, one for adults and one for children, and a changing table.28
People with visible physical disabilities are not the only users of single-stall handicapped restrooms.
The single-stall washroom (whether it is called family style or handicapped washroom) provides a
higher level of privacy than the multi-stall public restrooms. In addition, people using an ostomy pouch
often prefer the additional access space and increased privacy of a unisex restroom. 29
Pay Toilets
Currently, there is a shortage of public restrooms in U.S. cities. However, this wasn’t always the case.
Publicly-available for-pay restrooms used to be common in the U.S. In the early 1900s, they were
available at railroad stations, airports, bus stations, and highway rest stops. They were also common in
busy urban commercial districts. For the most part, people had to pay for the stalls, which opened with
coins, while urinals were free. By 1970, America had over 50,000 for-pay toilets.30
In the 1970s, several separate interests began dismantling this business model. One was the feminist
movement, which pointed out differences in charges - some companies charged for using commodes
or toilets, which were more expensive to operate than urinals, but did not charge for urinals. Another
was the Committee to End Pay Toilets in America (CEPTIA), a group of teenagers who got tired of
paying to use restrooms. As a result, states began passing legislation to ban for-pay restrooms.31
Instead of free public toilets available for all, public toilets pretty much disappeared from American
cities, since cities found it expensive and difficult to keep them safe and clean. By 1980, almost none
existed in the United States. In Europe, where there was no such movement, pay public toilets continue
to operate today. Today, in the United States, many complain that restrooms are unsafe, unclean, and
24 Id.
25 Id.
26 Id.
27 American Restroom Association, Family and Unisex Restrooms, https://americanrestroom.org/family-unisex-restrooms/ (last visited
Mar. 20, 2023).
28 Id.
29 Id.
30 Catalyst, U.S. Cities Should Bring Back For-pay Toilets, https://catalyst.independent.org/2020/02/13/u-s-cities-should-bring-back-
for-pay-toilets/ (last visited Mar. 20, 2023).
31 Id.
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 in disrepair, and have a reputation for attracting illegal activity.32 The resulting restroom shortage has
resulted in real inconvenience in cities, and sometimes public health problems. 33
Federal Regulations Related to Restrooms
Enacted in 1970, the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) guarantees that employers will
provide all employees with safe work conditions. It includes accessibility to restrooms and sanitary
conditions.34 It provides that restroom facilities for employees must be made available based on the
knowledge that restroom restrictions can result in employees avoiding using restrooms entirely while at
work, which can lead to potentially serious physical injury or illness.
OSHA covers the number of water closets required depending on the number of employees. At work
sites with up to 15 employees, one water closet is expected to be provided; Otherwise, the standard is
one for every 40 employees. If employee restrooms are made available to the public, they must comply
with local building code requirements, and OSHA and ADA requirements.
Florida law requires all restrooms to be compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA),
which, among other things, directs the provision of as-needed restroom breaks as a reasonable
accommodation for an employee who needs to use the facilities due to an injury, disability, or illness.
Requirements include that different facilities have to be provided for each sex unless the restrooms
themselves can be occupied by no more than one person and can be locked from the inside. Each
restroom is required to be a separate compartment, with a door, that is separated from the next by
partitions. Public restrooms must be completely closed and have tight-fitting doors that close properly to
ensure privacy. In additi