State may end sales tax on feminine products

House passes bill 84-1; tax costs women $4M per year, advocates say.

Ohio is set to become the latest state to repeal sales taxes on feminine hygiene products.

The Ohio House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly Wednesday 84-1 on a bill that includes a provision to end sales taxes for products such as sanitary pads and tampons. At least 14 other states exempt the products from sales taxes.

Advocates for ending the tax say it costs Ohio women about $4 million per year.

In 2016, four Cleveland area women filed a class action lawsuit against Ohio Department of Taxation over the tax on feminine

continued from A1 hygiene products. They argue the items are medically necessary. Ohio does not apply a sales tax to medicine.

“It is a vestige of another era, and now is the time to end it,” said the 15-page complaint filed on behalf of plaintiffs.

Ohio does not tax most medical items but menstrual sanitary products — tampons and pads — are subject to the state sales tax.

There has been a campaign across the U.S. and in other countries to end taxes on feminine hygiene products.

Supporters of the tax exemption argue women are at a financial disadvantage, because they have to spend money on hygiene products that men don’t need.

An estimated $78.6 mil- lion will be spent this year in Ohio on feminine hygiene products, according to a legislative analysis. The aver- age woman will spend more than $11,000 on the products during her lifetime.

“It’s about making medi- cally necessary products more available to the women in our state so they can go to school, so they can go to work, and so they can live a healthy life,” said Rep. Brigid Kelly, D-Cincinnati, who introduced a “pink tax” bill.

“By exempting feminine hygiene products from the sales tax, millions of Ohio women, families and house- holds will benefit.”

The bill now heads to the state Senate.

Lawmakers tackle other issues

St a te lawmak e rs took ac t ion on several oth er issues Wednesday as they head toward the end of the session.

Bills pass to start tracking of rape kits: The House and Senate each voted on legislation that calls for creating a system that sexual assault victims can use to track their rape kits through the crimi- nal justice process.

House Bill 719 was approved 75-0, and Senate Bill 323 was approved 31-0. The bills, which are identi- cal, would establish a system through the Attorney General’s office that allows tracking from collection, inventory, crime lab analysis and prosecution. Individ- uals would be able to anonymously access the tracking system to check the status of their exam kit. Information in the system would be con- fidential and not subject to public disclosure, if the legislation becomes law.

At least one of the bills must still be approved by the other chamber before it can be sent to the governor for consideration.

Debate continues on controversial gun, abortion bills: Senators also continued to hold hearings on two bills that have spurred protests and strident opposition and support.

Senate Government Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman Bill Coley, R-West Chester, said House Bill 228, the so-called ‘Stand Your Ground’ bill, will be amended and receive a committee vote this morning, teeing it up for a possible Senate floor vote in the afternoon. Coley said the bill aims to provide clarity on when and how Ohioans may use deadly force when they are threatened in public places.

The Senate Health Committee scheduled a hearing late Wednesday for House Bill 258, the so-called ‘Heartbeat’ bill that would ban abortion once a fetal heartbeat can be detected, which is often at six weeks gestation.

The abortion ban and gun bill are expected to be vetoed by Gov. John Kasich. Lawmakers could generate the votes to override vetoes before ending the two-year legislative session Dec. 19, which is the last scheduled meeting day.

Any bil l s that aren’t approved by both chambers by Dec. 19 will die and would have to be reintroduced next year when the new two-year legislative session begins and Gov.-elect Mike DeWine takes office.