S 7131: Establishes standards for the design and construction of all-gender bathrooms in the state and in New York city; provides standards will be permitted in both new construction and existing structures undergoing repair, renovation, or alteration work.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7131 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE April 1, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. MAY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Housing, Construction and Community Development AN ACT to amend the executive law and the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to establishing standards for the design and construction of all-gender bathrooms The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 378 of the executive law is amended by adding a new 2 subdivision 21 to read as follows: 3 21. a. Standards for all-gender bathrooms to provide privacy and secu- 4 rity, incorporating best practices in restroom design, including but not 5 limited to: 6 (i) lockable individual toilet stalls with a minimum door height of 7 eighty-four inches and a maximum undercut of four inches; 8 (ii) no visual gaps at the sides of doors and pilasters; 9 (iii) shared sink areas positioned outside of individual toilet 10 stalls; and 11 (iv) allowance for separate sinks within individual stalls. 12 b. All-gender bathrooms may include urinals provided they are enclosed 13 within individual lockable stalls meeting the privacy standards in para- 14 graph a of this subdivision. 15 c. (i) The department shall promulgate or amend regulations to allow 16 and facilitate the designation, installation, and use of all-gender 17 bathrooms in any use group as defined in the state building code, 18 including but not limited to commercial, institutional, educational, and 19 public facilities. 20 (ii) All-gender bathrooms shall be permitted in both new construction 21 and existing structures undergoing repair, renovation, or alteration 22 work. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD09382-02-5 
 S. 7131 2 1 (iii) Standards developed pursuant to this subdivision shall include 2 requirements for signage and wayfinding standards to ensure clear iden- 3 tification of all-gender bathrooms while maintaining inclusivity and 4 accessibility. 5 d. For the purposes of this subdivision, "all-gender bathrooms" shall 6 mean multi-fixture toilet rooms with separate, lockable partitions and a 7 shared sink area that can be used by individuals of all gender identi- 8 ties. 9 § 2. PC 403 of chapter 4 of the plumbing code of the administrative 10 code of the city of New York is amended by adding a new section 403.5 to 11 read as follows: 12 § 403.5 All-gender bathrooms. 1. (a) All-gender bathrooms shall be 13 designed to provide privacy and security, incorporating best practices 14 in restroom design, including but not limited to: 15 (i) lockable individual toilet stalls with a minimum door height of 84 16 inches and a maximum undercut of 4 inches; 17 (ii) no visual gaps at the sides of doors and pilasters; 18 (iii) shared sink areas positioned outside of individual toilet 19 stalls; and 20 (iv) allowance for separate sinks within individual stalls. 21 (b) All-gender bathrooms may include urinals provided they are 22 enclosed within individual lockable stalls meeting the privacy standards 23 in paragraph (a) of this subdivision. 24 2. All-gender bathrooms shall be permitted in both new construction 25 and existing structures undergoing repair, renovation, or alteration 26 work. 27 3. Standards developed pursuant to this section shall include require- 28 ments for signage and wayfinding standards to ensure clear identifica- 29 tion of all-gender bathrooms while maintaining inclusivity and accessi- 30 bility. 31 4. For the purposes of this section, "all-gender bathrooms" shall mean 32 multi-fixture toilet rooms with separate, lockable partitions and a 33 shared sink area that can be used by individuals of all gender identi- 34 ties. 35 § 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 36 have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or 37 repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of 38 this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed 39 on or before such effective date.