Senator’s changing table proposal looks to ease burden on parents

It's the rare sort of bill that has lots of people talking, but without the controversy.

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – If Senator Terrell McKinney’s bill passes, it’s probably going to make a lot of parents very happy, because it solves a problem just about every one of them has run into once or twice.

“What I would like to do”, explains Senator McKinney, “is to make changing tables more accessible across our state for men and women that have children.”

Imagine being out and about with a baby, when you’re hit with the sudden realization that someone needs a change. In this scenario, however, you’re stuck somewhere without a place to do that. It’s a situation most people would probably rather avoid. The feedback Senator McKinney has had so far would seem to confirm that.

“Everyone that’s said something about it is like, you know, ‘I heard a story’, or ‘I know someone’, or ‘this is a good idea’. You hear those type of stories. When I introduced it, I got a comment that a father had to change a diaper on the floor of a restroom.”

An important thing to note is that, if passed, this wouldn’t mean every single bathroom in the state is getting a changing table. This would apply to new buildings or restrooms undergoing a major renovation. There are a few exceptions, however.

“There’s establishments with restrooms, but the restrooms aren’t for the public, so there wouldn’t be a need for them”, says McKinney. “If it’s for public use, I think to try to make changing tables more accessible to everyone is probably a good policy going forward.”

There are other exceptions, too. As the bill is currently written, if an establishment isn’t open to people younger than 18, they would be exempt. There would also be an exemption made if installing a table would conflict with another building requirement. A further exemption comes if there’s already an establishment with a public changing table within 500 feet of the restroom in question.

After its introduction, the bill has been referred to the Business and Labor Committee. Wherever it goes from here, it remains one of those bills that gets everybody talking, but without much of the associated controversy. “I haven’t heard any opposition yet”, says McKinney.