BOSTON -- If Bellingham resident Douglas Flavin has his way, all public bathroom doors in Massachusetts will open outward, not inward.

The Legislature's Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight reviewed the bill Wednesday. State Rep. James Vallee (D-Franklin) filed the bill on Flavin's behalf.

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"[Think] how easy it would be to prevent germs and disease," Flavin's wife Tracy told BostonNow. "If state residents could open bathroom doors with a knee or elbow instead of a handle."

Flavin also claimed it would prevent litter resulting from people protecting their hands with paper towels.

A representative for the state Department of Public Safety told the newspaper that the state building code does not specify the direction public bathroom doors must open.