Last week, House Bill 20, the bill that would require all public and charter schools which have students in grades 6-12 to provide free feminine hygiene products for the girls in school, advanced out of the House Health & Human Development Committee. That could mean that the bill is ready for a vote on the virtual House floor, or it could be reassigned to another committee, such as the Education committee.
The bill has an annual cost of $77,023. This bill was introduced last year and it passed the House 33-6, and would have passed the Senate but for the session being suspended and then truncated due to the COVID pandemic.
| House Bill 20 Sponsors | Yes Votes | No Votes |
| Longhurst, Heffernan, Lambert, Moore, Baumbach, Chukwuocha, Cooke, Griffith, K.Johnson, Kowalko, Minor-Brown, Mitchell, Morrison, Osienski, M.Smith | ||
| Gay, Lockman, Poore, Hansen, S.McBride, Paradee, Pinkney, Sokola, Sturgeon, Townsend | ||
| Current Status: On House Floor as of 1/21/21 |
“Schools supply paper towels, toilet paper and pencils because they are essential,” said main sponsor Majority Leader Representative Valerie Longhurst, “Feminine hygiene products are essential.”
For anyone who’s interested in contacting their legislators on this one, DU has a great action: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/support-hb-20-end-period-poverty?source=direct_link&fbclid=IwAR1vMDEbIz6q7sQUDijlVUPKWbc4tVHgS1Xpvc7N3LFIcrfRQCgVcmeiJeQ