As Passed by the Senate

127th General Assembly Regular Session 2007-2008

Am. H. B. No. 150

Representative McGregor, J. 

Cosponsors: Representatives Adams, Peterson, Luckie, Skindell, Collier, Yuko, Budish, Chandler, Coley, Combs, DeGeeter, Domenick, Dyer, Evans, Flowers, Gardner, Gibbs, Sayre, Schindel, Setzer, Williams, B. 

Senators Cates, Roberts, Cafaro, Fedor, Goodman, Harris, Kearney, Mason, Miller, R., Morano, Sawyer, Schaffer, Smith, Spada, Stivers, Wilson, Schuler, Miller, D. 

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A BILL

To enact sections 5.2240, 4173.01, 4173.02, and

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4173.03 of the Revised Code to establish a "good

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Samaritan law" to encourage retail establishments

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to allow customers with eligible medical

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conditions to use the retail establishment's

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restrooms that are not usually available to the

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public, to limit the liability of an

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establishment that allows such access, and to

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designate May 23 as Crohn's and Colitis Awareness

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Day in Ohio.

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BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

Section 1. That sections 5.2240, 4173.01, 4173.02, and	11
4173.03 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:	12

Sec. 5.2240.  The twenty-third day of May is designated as	13
"Crohn's and Colitis Awareness Day."	14

Sec. 4173.01.  As used in this chapter:

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(A) "Customer" means an individual who is lawfully on the	16
premises of a retail establishment.	17

(B) "Eligible medical condition" means Crohn's disease,	18
ulcerative colitis, any other inflammatory bowel disease,	19
irritable bowel syndrome, or any other medical condition that	20
requires immediate access to a toilet facility.	21

(C) "Retail establishment" means a place of business open to	22
the general public for the sale of goods or services. "Retail	23
establishment" does not include a filling station or service	24
station, with a structure of eight hundred square feet or less,	25
that has an employee toilet facility located within that	26
structure.	27

Sec. 4173.02.  (A) Any retail establishment that has a toilet	28
facility for its employees is encouraged to permit a customer to	29
use that facility during normal business hours if the toilet	30
facility is reasonably safe and all of the following conditions	31
are met:	32

(1) The customer requesting the use of the employee toilet	33
facility suffers from an eligible medical condition or utilizes an	34
ostomy device.	35

(2) The employee toilet facility is not located in an area	36
where providing access would create an obvious health or safety	37
risk to the customer or an obvious security risk to the retail	38
establishment.	39

(3) A public restroom or employee restroom normally available	40
to the public is not immediately accessible to the customer.	41

(B) This section does not require a retail establishment to	42
make any physical changes to an employee toilet facility.	43

(C) No restroom facility, by reason of being made available	44
to a customer pursuant to this section, shall be considered a	45
public facility for the purpose of laws or regulations that	46
generally govern facilities available to the public. That restroom	47
facility shall be governed by the laws and regulations that	48
otherwise would govern the facility if it were not made available	49
to a customer pursuant to this section.	50

Sec. 4173.03.  No retail establishment or an employee of a	51
retail establishment shall be liable in any civil action for an	52
injury or death of a customer resulting from any act or omission	53
in allowing a customer to use an employee toilet facility pursuant	54
to section 4173.02 of the Revised Code if the act or omission is	55
not willful or grossly negligent.	56