Highway Signs - As enacted, requires the department of transportation to install signs or markers displaying language or an appropriate symbol indicating to motorists that a rest area or welcome center has a family restr, the official text

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                             PUBLIC CHAPTER NO. 412

                                                     SENATE BILL NO. 147

                                     By Lowe, Campbell, Hatcher, Reeves, White

                                             Substituted for: House Bill No. 60

     By Raper, Behn, Hale, Eldridge, Crawford, Reneau, White, Doggett, Bricken, Helton-Haynes,
                                             Littleton, Alexander, Powell, Hawk

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4, Chapter 3; Title 12 and Title 54, relative to
          roadside facilities for motorists.

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

          SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4, Chapter 3, Part 23, is amended by adding
the following as a new section:

                    (a) As used in this section, "family restroom" means a separate, fully enclosed
          restroom that:

                              (1) Has an outer door that can be locked by the occupant; and

                              (2) Is equipped to be used by one (1) or more:

                                        (A) Persons with disabilities;

                                        (B) Elderly persons;

                                        (C) Children; or

                                        (D) Persons who need the assistance of another person or a relative
                              when using restroom facilities.

                    (b) If a rest area or welcome center has a family restroom, then the department of
          transportation shall install a sign or marker displaying a symbol or language indicating the
          accessibility of a family restroom to motorists, or include that symbol or language on an
          existing rest area or welcome center sign or marker, on the portions of the interstate system
          and state system of highways and associated rights-of-way near the rest area or welcome
          center.

                    (c) The department may consult the departments of safety and tourist development in
          manufacturing and installing the signs or markers or designating or placing symbols or
          language on signs or markers pursuant to this section.

                    (d) Symbols, language, signs, and markers installed pursuant to this section must be
          consistent with the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) and the state
          supplemental guidelines, as applicable.

                    (e) The department shall post on its website the rest areas and welcome centers that
          have family restrooms.

                    (f) In consultation with the departments of safety and tourist development, the
          department of transportation is authorized to promulgate rules necessary to effectuate this
          section. The rules must be promulgated in accordance with the Uniform Administrative
          Procedures Act, compiled in chapter 5 of this title.
SB 147
         SECTION 2. For the purpose of promulgating rules, this act takes effect upon becoming a

law, the public welfare requiring it. For all other purposes, this act takes effect July 1, 2025, the
public welfare requiring it.

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         SENATE BILL NO. 147

PASSED:  April 21, 2025

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                         '                  -----o'i·'McNALLY

                            SPEAKER OF THE SENATE

                            CAMEROtCSEXTON,SPEAKER

                            HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

geL APPROVED this  dayof ~                  2025

         ~
                        BILL LEE, GOVERNOR