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HB 5859

AN ACT RELATING TO FOOD AND DRUGS -- SANITATION IN FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Megan Cotter

Allows private well water in food-establishment restrooms if it meets health standards; DOH retains authority over drinking/food-water rules and may require notices.

03/18/2025 Committee recommended measure be held for further study
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Bill Summary · HB 5859

Summary — HB 5859: Sanitation in Food Establishments (Private Well Water in Restrooms)

Status and procedural timeline
- Introduced: February 28, 2025 (Representative Megan L. Cotter). Referred to House Health & Human Services.
- Hearing scheduled: March 18, 2025. Committee action (03/18/2025): committee recommended the measure be held for further study.
- Effective date (if enacted): January 1, 2026.

Purpose and intent
- To allow food service establishments to use private well water in restrooms (employee-only and public restrooms) when that well water meets standards and safeguards established by the Department of Health, while preserving the department’s ability to regulate water used for drinking and food preparation.

Key provisions
1. Amendments to sanitation authority (amends § 21‑27‑3)
- The health department director continues to adopt sanitary regulations for food businesses and premises.
- New rule: regulations may not prohibit the use of private well water in restrooms (employee-only or customer/public restrooms) provided the well water complies with the standards set under § 23‑1‑5.3.
- The director may require posting of notices in restrooms using private well water informing users that the water comes from a private well and is not for drinking or food preparation.
- Clarifies that the director’s authority to regulate water used for drinking or in food preparation (i.e., cooking, washing food) is not limited.

  1. Duties of the office of private well water contamination (amends § 23‑1‑5.3)
    • Existing duties retained/expanded: coordinate agency response to private well contamination, notify officials, advise well owners, develop educational materials, emergency response procedures (bottled water/filters), and promulgate rules establishing private well drinking-water quality standards.
    • Minimum rule elements already specified in law remain: list of contaminants to be tested and acceptable levels; required testing for coliform bacteria, fluoride, iron, lead, manganese, nitrate, nitrite, and turbidity for new wells and prior to sale of property; owner disclosure of prior test results; qualifications for sampling professionals; reporting procedures; guidance to municipal building officials on “potable” definitions and occupancy decisions; and a public database showing known contaminant areas.
    • New subsection (8): requires the office to develop and promulgate rules/regulations specifically to protect employee and public safety when private well water is used in food-service establishment restrooms.

Who is affected
- Food service establishments and restaurant operators: may be permitted to use private well water in restrooms if wells comply with the new standards and any required signage is posted.
- Private well owners supplying establishments: subject to testing, reporting, and compliance with rules developed under § 23‑1‑5.3.
- Department of Health / Office of Private Well Water Contamination: required to develop, promulgate, and enforce standards and emergency response protocols; maintain public database.
- Municipal building/health officials and health inspectors: will use new guidance and rules in permitting and inspection decisions.
- Employees and customers: potential exposure to non-municipal water in restrooms, with required notice and protective standards.

Potential impacts and considerations
- Public health protection depends on the content and enforcement of the rules to be promulgated (testing regimes, contaminant thresholds, reporting, and remediation procedures).
- The bill explicitly preserves departmental authority over water used in food preparation/drinking, so it does not change standards for sinks, ice machines, or food-contact water.
- Signage requirement (if adopted) would alert restroom users but does not itself substitute for testing/enforcement.
- Implementation requires active rulemaking by the department and ongoing reporting and database maintenance; enforcement resources and timelines for promulgation will determine practical effects.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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