Alabama Senate bill would require adult-size changing tables in some new buildings
Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, speaks to colleagues on the floor of the Alabama Senate on Feb. 12, 2025 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. Orr sponsors SB 83, that would require the installation of power lifted changing tables in public restrooms. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector)
June Wilson approached Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, with an issue that parents of children with disabilities face: She had nowhere to change her 4-year-old son's diaper.
That led to SB 83, a bill that passed the Senate Finance and Taxation Committee on Wednesday that would require powered, height-adjustable, adult-size changing tables to be installed in newly constructed or renovated public buildings starting in 2028.
'The bill is about dignity, accessibility and inclusion,' Wilson said to the committee Wednesday. 'Right now, thousands of Alabamians, children and adults with disabilities, those with medical conditions and their caregivers face an impossible challenge. Many public spaces lack proper facilities to accommodate individuals who cannot safely or comfortably use a standard restroom. As a result, caregivers are often forced to change loved ones on bathroom floors and unsafe conditions or leave events early because there's simply nowhere to go.'
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According to 2023 data from the United States Census Bureau, about 430,000 Alabamians reported having an ambulatory disability, with 5,000 of those being under 18 years old.
Wilson said her 4-year-old son Lorde was born at 29 weeks and was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and developmental delay. While her son may be able to use the restroom independently one day, she said, for now she has limited options to change his diaper in public.
'I have to change Lorde's pull-up in our car in full view of strangers. Other times, I've had to lay him down on a cold, dirty bathroom floor, because there was simply no other option,' she said 'I have been ridiculed for changing my child in my car. Told just to use the bathroom, but there is no bathroom to use.'
Portable changing tables exist, but are priced between $1,700 and $10,000.
The requirement would be limited to new buildings and complete renovations of existing structures costing $500,000 or more.
According to a fiscal note with the bill, the changing tables would cost $15,000 each, and the responsibility to pay would fall on the state and local entities installing the tables. The legislation authorizes grants for installation to public entities that meet high traffic demands, should the Legislature appropriate money to do so.
Wilson was joined by two other parents of disabled children, including Amanda Dixon, the mother of an 8-year-old.
'I have been confronted by the police before for changing him out in my car, because it's public indecency,' Dixon said. 'And that shouldn't be an issue I have to face as a mother of a disabled child.'
Sen. Vivian Figures, D-Mobile, noted the 2028 effective date and asked if there was a way to provide families with disabled children a temporary solution.
'This is going to take a while, and they need help now,' Figures said.
Orr said he is open to adding that into the bill as the process continues.
The bill goes to the full Senate.
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