BOSTON - The Massachusetts Senate recently advanced a bill out of the Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities that would require public establishments like restaurants, hotels and municipal buildings to have an accessible changing table.

What You Need To Know

  • A bill has moved out of committee that would require public establishments to offer a changing table that is both gender neutral and semi-private

  • Other states like New York have mandated changing tables in both gendered restrooms

  • State Sen. Becca Rasuach wrote the bill when her kids were in diapers and she realized how hard it was to change them in public spaces like restaurants and municipal buildings

The bill, "An Act Providing Diaper Changing Stations in Public Buildings and Accommodations," was written by state Sen. Becca Rausch, D-Norfolk, Worcester & Middlesex. It has exemptions for places like night clubs where small children aren’t allowed, but establishments where children are allowed would be required to offer a changing table that is both gender neutral and semi-private.  

“Basically caregivers of all genders and abilities in just walking through the world, trying to take care of our kids, diaper changing stations can be very surprisingly difficult to find," Rausch said.

Rausch has introduced this legislation every session since she was elected in 2018. As a mom of young kids, she claims accessible changing stations are few and far between.

“You just need a smaller flat surface to be able to change your child's diaper," Rausch said. "And so, you know, those options are just a couple hundred bucks. It makes the whole experience not just for parents and caregivers who live in Massachusetts, but for all the parents and caregivers who are coming to Massachusetts, you know, for tourism or vacation or whatever it is. It just makes the whole thing so much more welcoming and accessible.”

For some restaurateurs, this is an issue they don’t believe the Legislature needs to mandate, but it instead should be determined by the establishment.

Steve Clark, president of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, said in a statement, “There are many family-friendly restaurants that already offer accommodations for children, whether it’s specific menus, high-chair availability, crayons at the table and so much more and it seems to work just fine. This is a solution in search of a problem.”

The bill is awaiting next steps, and Rausch’s team expects it to advance to the Ways and Means Committee.