NEW ORLEANS – Following last month’s “Tampon Tax Protest,” the New Orleans City Council adopted Resolution R-19-497 by President Helena Moreno, urging the Louisiana State Legislature to champion legislation that would end local taxes on feminine hygiene products and diapers.
The Council shared details in a press release:
As one of her first official orders of business, State Representative-elect Aimee Adatto Freeman will introduce a bill to allow local governments to pass tax exemptions on the products. Freeman’s legislation will mirror a bill championed by State Senator JP Morrell during the 2019 legislative session, which advanced through the Senate but ultimately failed to become law.
“Many women in our city and across our state have to make tough choices in order to make ends meet, and we should do everything we can to make these basic necessities accessible to everyone,” said City Council President Helena Moreno. “No mother should have to choose between buying food or diapers for their babies, and none of our girls should have to miss school because they don’t have tampons or sanitary pads.”
“How we treat this issue reflects how we think about women and families in our state,” said State Senator JP Morrell, who introduced similar bills several times that failed pass before he was term-limited out of his seat in the Legislature. “We’ve established in our state Constitution that we do not tax items that people need; and tampons, pads, and diapers are clearly items that people need.”
“As a mother and a woman, I am proud to announce that one of the first bills I author will be to empower local governments to end local taxes on feminine hygiene products and diapers. It is unfair that state and local governments tax these products as “luxury items” rather than necessities that are not taxed, like prescriptions,” said Freeman, who was recently elected State Representative for District 98 in New Orleans.
The resolution unanimously adopted yesterday affirms the Council’s support of Freeman’s bill to protect those individuals and families already experiencing financial instability from further risk due to access and affordability issues surrounding these products.
