The House Children Youth Committee on Nov. 1 advanced House Bill 1558, known in the text as the Baby Diaper Changing Station Accessibility Act, voting 15–11 to report the bill to the next stage after adopting an amendment. The amendment, A020001, was sponsored by Representative McNeil, who also chairs the committee.

Danielle, committee staff, summarized the bill as a freestanding act that would require diaper changing stations in covered restrooms and listed third-party positions: the Pennsylvania Council of Children, Youth, and Family Services was neutral and the Pennsylvania State Association of Burrows and the Pennsylvania Restaurant and Lodging Association opposed the bill. The amendment A020001, also summarized by Danielle, adds a definition for the terms “school entity” and “secretary,” creates an exception for restrooms located on school property, revises penalty subsections to specify administrative fines, adds a new investigations section, and adds a regulations section. The amendment also staggers effective dates, specifying that section 7 (regulations) takes effect in 60 days, another portion takes effect immediately, and the remainder takes effect upon publication of final-form regulations.

During debate Representative Klunk said she appreciated the bill’s intent but opposed the amendment and the bill as amended, saying it could create confusion and regulatory costs for local businesses and that many businesses already install stations in response to customer demand. The amendment passed on a roll call (ayes 15, nays 11). The committee subsequently voted to report the bill as amended by the same margin (ayes 15, nays 11).

The action taken was to adopt amendment A020001 (reported ayes 15, nays 11) and to report House Bill 1558 as amended (reported ayes 15, nays 11). The committee record lists the amendment’s sponsor as Representative McNeil and records the outcome as agreed to and the bill as reported as amended. No final enactment or effective date beyond the staggered provisions in the amendment was adopted by the committee; further action will occur in subsequent legislative steps.