Latest news with #URGE
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
College students advocate for menstrual tax exemption at Alabama Statehouse
The Alabama State House in Montgomery, Alabama as seen on July 10, 2023. College students came to the Statehouse Tuesday to push for a bill removing sales tax from menstrual products. (Stew Milne for Alabama Reflector) Rhianna Rinderkincht, a 20-year-old student at the University of Alabama, said she often struggles to make the choice between buying groceries and menstrual products. 'I'm pretty much financially independent, so money gets tight, and those things are expensive to begin with,' Rinderkincht said in an interview. Rinderkincht was at the Alabama State House with the Alabama chapter of United for Reproductive and Gender Equity (URGE) on Tuesday meeting with legislators in support of HB 152, sponsored by Rep. Neil Rafferty, D-Birmingham. The legislation would remove state sales tax on menstrual products, baby formula, maternity clothing and other related products. It passed the House in March and awaits approval from the Senate. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, attempted to pass similar legislation last year, but it did not get a vote in the House. Alabama is one of 20 states that tax period products, according to the Alliance for Period Supplies. 'People shouldn't have to choose between groceries and period products or groceries and baby formula,' Rinderkincht said. URGE also advocated against SB 277, sponsored by Sen. Shay Shelnutt, R-Trussville, that centers sex education in Alabama on abstinence until marriage. According to a University of Washington study, abstinence-only-until-marriage programs do not improve teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases or infections. 'If that's something that you want to do, that is totally fine. However, you should be giving people enough information to make informed choices,' said Sylvia Glenn, a 21-year-old student at UA, in an interview. The pair and other student advocates with URGE met with lawmakers to express their support for the tax exemption on menstrual products. Although Rinderkincht and Glenn are not originally from Alabama, they said the policies will still affect them while they are in the state for school. 'This is me trying to give myself a little education about what it does look like to show up and to represent my district. I mean, our representatives are representing us, but also the other way around, how I can do my piece and advocate for myself in my community,' Glenn said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Activists call on Kansas lawmakers to provide sales tax relief for period products
From left, Caitlyn Hammack, the Kansas leader of equity organization URGE, and Sen. Oletha Faust-Goudeau, a Wichita Democrat, appear on Feb. 26, 2025, at a period day of action in Topeka to promote a bill that would exempt period products from sales taxes. (Anna Kaminski/Kansas Reflector) TOPEKA — A person spends on average about $2,000 on menstrual products in their lifetime, and Kansas activists say part of that price tag could be reduced by eliminating sales tax on those products. At a period day of action Wednesday at the Kansas Statehouse, students and legislators convened to advocate in favor of Senate Bill 107, which would exempt disposable and reusable period products, diapers and incontinence products from the state's 6.5% sales tax and local sales tax collections. The bill hasn't received a hearing this session despite bipartisan support for similar bills proposed in recent years. State budget officials estimated the tax exemption would decrease state revenue by $8 million in fiscal year 2026, which begins July 1, when the exemption would go into effect. Officials were not able to calculate the impact on local sales tax revenues. Caitlyn Hammack is the statewide organizer for URGE, Unite for Reproductive and Gender Equity, which is active on five college campuses across Kansas helping students access period products and reduce the stigma surrounding discussions about periods. Hammack led the Wednesday event, which included shiny red tablecloths, attendees wearing red clothing and stickers that read 'Go with the flow!' She said the bill fits the session's predominant focus: tax relief for everyday Kansans. Hammack said she wrote the bill, modeling it after similar legislation in red and purple states, including Texas, which eliminated its 'tampon tax' in 2023. Wichita Democratic Sen. Oletha Faust-Goudeau introduced it on Jan. 29. Faust-Goudeau pointed out the struggle among Kansans to afford basic needs, including those who receive food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which can't be used to purchase hygiene products. Rep. Alexis Simmons, a Topeka Democrat and a supporter of the bill, told those gathered to 'make a big deal about what you're doing.' 'How often do we hear someone talking about the price of eggs?' Simmons said. 'But why is nobody talking about something that directly affects 50% of the population?' The bill was assigned to the Senate tax committee, where a hearing has not been scheduled.
