Assembly Bill Would Open State Retailers' Restrooms

A state lawmaker wants New York retailers to be required to open their employee restrooms to random passers-by who are suffering from Crohn's disease, an inflammatory bowel disorder of unpredictable symptoms.

Under the Restroom Access Act, introduced this week by an Assembly Democrat of Westchester, people afflicted with Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, or any other condition requiring urgent access to a toilet may not be turned away by businesses, with few exceptions.

Retail owners who refuse to open their bathrooms to such people during business hours could face a misdemeanor charge punishable by a fine of up to $100.

Businesses may turn away sufferers if there are fewer than three employees present or if proving access to a toilet would present an obvious safety risk to the user or a security risk to the shop.

Sufferers of Crohn's disease, which is said to afflict 500,000 to 1 million people in America and is more common among Jewish people between the ages of 20 and 30, have lobbied around the nation for the right to use retail restrooms on demand. At least two states, Texas and Illinois, have passed similar legislation. The bill proposed by Assemblyman George Latimer does not make clear how an employee would verify if a customer or passer-by needing to use a bathroom actually suffers from one of the eligible ailments. It does not specify a penalty for a person who falsely claims to have a bowel ailment.

The Restroom Access Act is one of more than 100 bills introduced in Albany since lawmakers returned from their six-month break last week.

Another Democrat of Westchester, Assemblywoman Sandy Galef, is proposing that movie theaters be required to play commercials and trailers at the same volume as feature films, "so that the public, especially young children, may have a comfortable movie viewing experience without the fear of hearing loss," the bill memo states.

Theaters violating the provision would face a civil penalty of up to $1,000.

Ms. Galef, in her bill memo, cited published reports of research claiming that previews shown at theaters are almost twice as loud as the feature film that follows. The legislation does not say if a theater could skirt the regulation simply by raising the volume of the feature film to match the decibel level of the trailers.

Meanwhile, a Republican senator, John DeFrancisco, has introduced legislation broadening the scope of the state's Freedom of Information Law to include text messages and e-mail messages sent or received on state-issued hand-held devices, including BlackBerries.

The bill comes amid accusations by Senate Republicans that Governor Spitzer and his staff used their BlackBerries to carry out secret communications on about the administration's alleged effort to discredit the Republican Senate majority leader, Joseph Bruno, by publicizing private police records concerning the senator's use of the state air fleet and ground transportation. Under the bill, people would now be able to access copies of text messages applicable under the Freedom of Information Law.