State lawmakers sent Gov. Jerry Brown a bill Tuesday that would end California's sales and use tax on women's menstrual products.
“Fundamentally this is about gender equity and leveling the field,” Democratic Assembly member Cristina Garcia -- who authored the bill along with Republican Assembly member Ling Ling Chang -- said in a press release. “Every month, for 40 years of our lives, we are taxed for being born women."
The bill, AB 1561, passed unanimously on the floors of the state Assembly and Senate.
If Gov. Brown signs the legislation, it would make women's menstrual products (including tampons, sanitary napkins, menstrual sponges, and menstrual cups) tax-exempt beginning January 1, 2017.
Women in California spend over $20 million each year in taxes on these items, according to the authors of the AB 1561. The numbers break-down to roughly $7 a month per woman on sanitary napkins and tampons, which is about $0.58 in sales and use taxes each month.
The state's tax code already exempts certain health products like walkers, medical identification tags and prescription medication, including Viagra.
