On May 13, the Minnesota Department Labor and Industry Construction Codes and Licensing Division (DLI) issued a Notice of Intent to Adopt Rules Without a Public Hearing to require adult changing stations as part of the Minnesota State Building Code.

The 2023 legislature directed DLI to adopt this change to the Minnesota Accessibility Rule to provide individuals with disabilities and their caregivers with a safe, sanitary space of sufficient size for changing to permit those individuals the ability to participate more actively within their communities.

Who will need to comply

When this rule was published, staff reached out to DLI to verify aspects of the proposed rule.  DLI has confirmed  that by rule definition, nursing homes, assisted living facilities and other smaller assembly (less than 185 rated occupancy capacity) will not have to comply with the new rule. 

The DLI memorandum provides clarity about who this rule applies to, and when they will need to comply.  Most settings will not need to comply with this new requirement because they are not included in the list of occupancy types required to comply with the rule.  If any occupancy type chooses to install an adult changing station, it would need to comply with the new requirements. 

Occupancy types requiring compliance

The 8 types of occupancy requiring compliance with the rule include:

• Assembly (“Group A”) and mercantile (“Group M”) occupancies where an aggregate of six or more male and female water closets are required.
  • Group A occupancies are places where people gather in groups such as concert halls, theaters, restaurants, places of religious worship, amusement arcades, museums, arenas, and stadiums.
  • Group M occupancies are spaces used for the display and sale of merchandise including stores and sales rooms. 
  • Assembly and mercantile occupancies are currently required to provide a family or assisted use toilet room where an aggregate of six or more male and female water closets are required.
• Group B occupancies providing educational facilities for students above the 12th grade.
  • The proposed rule only requires college and university buildings that have classrooms and lecture halls with large student occupant loads to provide an adult changing station. Other college and university buildings that are primarily used by staff for administrative or other purposes are not required comply with item 2.
• A room or space used for assembly purposes in Group E occupancies.
  • Group E occupancies are buildings or portions of buildings used for educational purposes through the 12th grade. These occupancies often include large spaces such as auditoriums that are used for community and civic activities such as plays and sporting events.
• Item 4 requires adult changing stations be provided at Minnesota Department of Transportation (“MnDOT”) rest areas with plumbing and electricity at toileting locations.
• Item 5 and item 6 require adult changing stations be provided in both state park campgrounds and state park visitor centers which have plumbing and electricity at toileting locations.
• Item 7 requires adult changing stations be provided in hospitals and ambulatory care facilities where an aggregate of six or more male and female water closets are required.
  • These facilities are often already required to be provided with family or assisted use toilet rooms due to the occupant load of waiting areas.
• Item 8 requires an adult changing station be provided in Group B outpatient clinics.
  • Outpatient clinics are buildings or portions of buildings used to provide medical care on a less than 24-hour basis to individuals not rendered incapable of self-preservation by the services provided.1

Rulemaking basics

State agencies periodically update their rules via the rule revision process.  When an agency is ready to make changes, it will publish a Notice of Intent Adopt Rules along with its proposed rule change language.  This action starts the minimum 30-day comment period on the proposed rule.  Depending upon the type of rulemaking authority used to revise the rule, the agency will either hold a hearing if 25 or more persons request a hearing or the administrative law judge assigned to the case will review the comments submitted and make their decision whether it complies will all rulemaking authorities.  After this review, the administrative law judge will send the agency its report.  The agency has 180 days after the receiving the judges report to publish its Notice to Adoption for the rule or the proposed rule is withdrawn.  The rule becomes effective five working days after the Notice of Adoption has been published in the State Register.  For this rule, we can expect to see a Notice of Adoption and the rule changes taking effect in mid to late summer.

Submitting comments

The comment period for this rule closes at 4:30 pm on Wednesday, June 12, 2024.  To submit comments, you will need to send them to:

Amanda Spuckler
Email:  dli.rules@state.mn.us
Phone:  651-284-5006

To ensure DLI can easily read and understand your comments, it is suggested you:

• Identify the specific part or subpart of the rule you are addressing;
• Specify whether you support or oppose the proposed rule language;
• Give reasons for your views; and
• Be specific and offer language changes to solve the problems you identify.

Resources

You can read more on each of the proposed rule’s topics below by clicking on its embedded link.

• Notice of Intent to Adopt Rules Without a Public Hearing
• Proposed rule language
• DLI memorandum explaining the proposed rule
• DLI website dedicated to proposed rule

Please reach out to Mark Schulz with questions.