Pads, tampons, and other menstrual products are a necessity for most women. However, in Kentucky, those items are taxed like a luxury product.
"I think it’s a fundamental injustice," said Rep. Lisa Willner, D-Louisville. "I mean this is a tax that affects roughly half, slightly over half, of the population and doesn’t affect the other half. So, it is frustrating that we are one of the states who continues it."
Willner has filed a bill to stop taxing menstrual products. She explains that Kentucky is currently in the minority of states that still tax these items.
Her bill also aims to tackle period poverty.
The Alliance for Period Supplies says that in Kentucky, one in five women and girls between ages 12 and 44 live below the federal poverty line. The group also estimates one in four teens in the U.S. has missed class because they didn't have period supplies.
"No child should miss school because of their period. And no child should feel shame because of their period. And no teacher and staff member should have to dig into their own pockets to make sure that students have what they need," said Skylar Davis, the founder of Period Y'all. "But that’s the reality here in Kentucky."
Willner's bill mandates that at least half of all public middle and high school bathrooms have free pads and tampons available for students. It appropriates $2 million to fund the products.
Willner is uncertain whether her bill has a shot at passage in the GOP-controlled General Assembly, but she hopes it at least gets the conversation started.
Rep. Kim Banta, R-Fort Mitchell, also filed a bill to remove the sales tax on menstrual products. However, that bill does not require free products in public schools.
