A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to provide equity in the number of women's and men's bathrooms.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  Declaration of legislative findings and intent. Almost every woman can recall waiting in a long line to use the bathroom, while there was no comparable line for a neighboring men's bathroom. According to studies on patterns of behavior in the use of bathrooms, it frequently takes women twice as long to use the bathroom as it does men. The 2003 International Building Code requires approximately twice as many water closets for women as for men in arenas, bars, concert halls, convention halls, motion picture theatres, public dance halls, stadiums, and theatres. Numerous jurisdictions, including California, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington, have enacted restroom equity laws. The lack of equality between men and women results in the continuation of inconveniences seemingly directed at women. The General Assembly seeks to address this disparity by enacting this legislation. Accordingly, the General Assembly finds it reasonable and necessary to require that arenas, bars, concert halls, convention halls, motion picture theatres, public dance halls, stadiums, and theatres provide sufficient women's bathroom facilities.
SECTION 2.  Definitions. For the purposes of this act, the following definitions apply:
(1)	"Bar" means a business establishment or any portion of a nonprofit entity, which is devoted to the selling and serving of alcoholic beverages for consumption by the public, guests, patrons, or members on the premises and in which the serving of food, if served at all, is only incidental to the sale or consumption of such beverages. For "bar" includes: (i) a restaurant bar; and (ii) any area located in a hotel or motel, which is devoted to the selling and serving of alcoholic beverages for consumption by the public, guests, patrons, or members on the premises and in which the serving of food, if at all, is only incidental to the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages. For the purposes of this subdivision: (i) service of food shall be considered incidental to the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages if the food service generates less than forty percent (40%) of total annual gross sales, and (ii) any business establishment or any portion of a nonprofit entity which is devoted to the selling and serving of alcoholic beverages for consumption by the public, guests, patrons, or members on the premises that generates forty percent (40%) or more of total annual gross sales from the sale of food for on‑premises consumption shall be a restaurant.
(2)	"Convention hall" shall mean any building or space utilized, during the major period of occupancy, for the holding of exhibitions or conventions. 
(3)	"Public dance hall" shall mean any building or space utilized, during the major period of occupancy, for dancing, and where alcoholic beverages are permitted to be served.
(4)	"Specified place of public assembly" shall mean any arena, bar, concert hall, convention hall, motion picture theatre, public dance hall, stadium, or theatre open to the general public.
SECTION 3.  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the provisions of this act shall apply to any bathroom open to the general public in any specified place of public assembly:
(1)	In a new building or space.
(2)	In an existing building or space that has been altered where the alteration of the building or space results in a change in the occupancy group classification of the building or space.
(3)	That is altered where the cost of making alterations in any 12-month period shall exceed thirty percent (30%) of the value of such building or space, provided such bathroom is part of the work area of such alterations.
(4)	That is altered where the cost of making alterations in any 12-month period shall exceed fifty percent (50%) of the value of such building or space.
SECTION 4.(a)  The number of water closets required for any specified place of public assembly shall be:
Number of Persons	Number of Water Closets for Men	Number of Water Closets for Women	
1‑150 a	1	2	
151‑300	2	4	
301‑450	3	6	
SECTION 4.(b)  The requirements for the number of water closets for occupancy by 150 persons or less shall not apply to bars except that there shall be at least one water closet for men and at least one water closet for women or an equivalent number of single occupancy, locking bathrooms that do not designate usage by gender.
SECTION 4.(c)  For occupancy by more than 450 persons, there shall be one water closet for men and two water closets for women for each additional 300 persons. The population used to determine the number of water closets required shall be based on the number of people to occupy the space; provided, however, that in no case shall the population be deemed less than that determined by allowing 125 square feet of floor area per person.
SECTION 5.  Urinals may be provided in bathrooms in lieu of water closets but the number shall not exceed fifty percent (50%) of the required number of water closets.
SECTION 6.  Single occupancy, locking bathrooms that do not designate usage by gender may be provided in lieu of separate bathrooms for men and women.
SECTION 7.  This act is only intended to change the ratio of men's and women's water closets required, and is not intended to require more than one water closet per 50 persons for occupancy by 450 persons or less, or more than one water closet per 100 persons for occupancy by more than 450 persons.
SECTION 8.(a)  The Commissioner of Insurance may waive the requirements of this act for the alteration of existing buildings; provided, however, that such waiver is based upon a specific finding that strict compliance with these requirements would:
(1)	Create an undue economic burden;
(2)	Not achieve its intended objective;
(3	Be physically or legally impossible;
(4)	Be unnecessary in light of alternatives which ensure the achievement of the intended objective or which achieve the intended objective more efficiently, effectively, or economically; or
(5)	Entail a change so slight as to produce a negligible additional benefit consonant with the purposes of this act.
SECTION 8.(b)  Each application for a waiver under subsection (a) of this section shall be made to the Commissioner in writing, setting forth each requirement sought to be waived and the specific reason or reasons therefor. The Commissioner shall determine, under all of the circumstances presented by such application, which of such requirements may appropriately be waived. The Commissioner shall render such determination in a writing which shall set forth in detail the Commissioner's findings and conclusions with respect to each requirement sought to be waived. A copy of such written determination shall be forwarded to the applicant. Such written determination shall be filed with the Department and is a public record.
SECTION 9.  This act becomes effective December 1, 2007.