A Philadelphia city council member wants to require new or renovated city-owned buildings to have gender-neutral restrooms in addition to men's and women's restrooms.
The Philadelphia Daily News says the measure introduced by Councilman Jim Kenney at the behest of the LGBT community would also require transgender health benefits for city employees.
“It can be an awkward and embarrassing situation” for anyone who may “feel more like a woman, but can't use the women's room, said Kenney.
A Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations official said the bill wouldn't cost the city extra money because it already requires single-use wheelchair-accessible bathrooms in all of its buildings.
"Life is hard for everybody and certain obstacles the government puts in the way intentionally or unintentionally make life harder for some more than others," Kenney said, "and all we're trying to do is streamline that down, Kenney told the paper.
The bill would also establish transgender health benefits for city employees to cover psychotherapy, hormone treatments, laser hair removal and gender confirmation surgery.
