Watch UNFILTERED Live Tonight (March 14th) at 6pm on GVWire.com to discuss this topic!
California public schools must provide free sanitary products, such as tampons, in all girls’ restrooms, all gender restrooms, and at least one boys’ restroom.
But two years after Congressional Bill 367 was signed into law, the requirement to distribute menstrual products in men’s restrooms became a flashpoint among conservatives. In Oregon, which passed a similar law in 2021, new law It is proposed to remove the requirement to provide menstrual products in men’s restrooms.
(GV Wire’s live stream show “Unfiltered” will feature sanitary products in men’s restrooms on Tuesday, March 14 at 6pm. Watch Unfiltered at gvwire.com, facebook.com/gvwire and youtube.com/gvwire. receive. )
Proponents of providing supplies in men’s and men’s restrooms say this is a matter of gender equality, not just between girls and women, but transgender boys and men, nonbinary and gender nonconforming people. increase.
When Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the Menstrual Equality Act of 2021 into law on October 8, 2021, there were no registered opponents and very few opponents.
Related Article: California May Require Menstrual Products in Public Schools
Congressional Bill 367 passed Congress and the Senate with zero “no” votes. The Valley Senators who voted yes included Democrats Dr. Joaquin Alambra and Adam Gray, Republican Senators Devon Mattis and Jim Patterson, Democratic Senator Melissa Hartado, and Republican Senators Andreas Borges and Shannon G. Grove was included. No votes were recorded for Republican Congressman Frank Bigelow.
AB 367 required schools serving students in grades 6 through 12, California State University and community college districts to provide free menstrual products by the start of the current school year.
In addition, the law requires public agencies (cities, counties, states) that maintain public restrooms to stock at least 50% of restrooms open to the public and restrooms used by agency employees with free menstrual products. I am obliged to do so.
The law also “encourages” the University of California and private colleges and universities to stock free menstrual products in at least 50% of their restrooms.
AB 367 Extended old law
Previous California law required schools with a student poverty rate of 40% or higher to provide free menstrual products in at least 50% of the school’s restrooms.
Arguments in favor of providing free products include reducing the amount of time students were out of class if menstrual products were not readily available.
The Congressional Appropriations Committee estimates that in 2021, the cost of installing dispensers in schools, colleges, and universities could total $9.2 million, and the annual cost of providing supplies could total $5.9 million. I’m assuming it’s possible. The committee did not estimate the potential costs of installing dispensers and furnishing toilets in public institutions.
An analysis by the Senate Appropriations Committee estimated the cost of installing dispensers in public schools at $2 million and $1.3 million in public schools. In its analysis, the Office of the President of California Community Colleges estimated the cost of Prop. 98’s General Fund to range from $57,500 to $115,000 annually to provide menstrual products at central locations on each of the system’s 115 campuses. I’m here. Meanwhile, CSU estimates the annual cost of providing products at university health centers at $750,000 to $800,000, and UC estimates the annual cost at “just under the tens of thousands of dollars.”
Since this program is a state mandate, the state is responsible for the cost of installing and supplying the dispensers.
