TAMPA, Fla. — A bill to require lactation spaces for nursing mothers in courthouses across Florida is making its way through committees in the Senate.

A companion bill is also making its way through the House.

Senate Bill 144 and House Bill 87 would require the lactation spaces in every county courthouse that are shielded from public view and made available not only to courthouse employees, but also members of the public.

“Whether you’re coming here again to pay a parking ticket or to sit on a jury, it’s become an access to justice issue and we think that will all be resolved if the legislation is passed,” said Tampa Attorney Jennifer Feld, who helped pen one of the original versions of the legislation.

Feld had just returned from maternity leave in 2017 when she had to find a way to pump at the Hillsborough County Courthouse.

“I actually had to pump in a criminal court holding cell because that was the closest space to my civil courtroom at the time,” Feld said.

Feld wrote about the experience as a way to give other attorneys in the same situation advice. Her article went viral in legal circles and soon after, she was contacted by the Florida Association of Women Lawyers, asking her to spearhead efforts to open lactation spaces in courthouses across the state.

With Feld’s help, the association has opened more than 30 lactation spaces in courthouses across the state, including one in the Hillsborough County Courthouse.

If passed and signed into law, the legislation would require all court house to do the same. 

Some exceptions would be made, including for courthouses that don’t have available space to repurpose or would require new construction for compliance.