Tax-free tampons up for debate in Arizona Legislature

A Coolidge Republican whose office was flooded with tampons for his refusal to hear a bill on free feminine hygiene products last year now proposes to make them tax-free.

HB 2153 would provide the exemption through 2027.

Rep. T.J. Shope, R-Coolidge, said he felt the bill simply made sense, but he didn’t take credit for the idea.

He said the co-sponsor of the bill, Rep. Daniel Hernandez, D-Tucson, educated him on the issue. Hernandez sponsored legislation seeking the exemption in the 2017 and 2018 legislative sessions, but the proposal has never received a vote on the House floor.

Shope said that’s because there was a split in the Democratic caucus, running the gamut of support from those who saw the bill as pro-woman to opposition from those who saw it as reducing the tax base for education funding.

Read more: https://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2019/01/17/tax-free-tampons-up-for-debate-in-arizona-legislature/