BILL NUMBER: S9184A
SPONSOR: HINCHEY
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public buildings law, in relation to providing
access to menstrual products in toilet facilities in certain public
buildings
 
PURPOSE:
This legislation will require menstrual products to be provided free of
charge in the restrooms of any state government-owned or -operated
building.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one amends public buildings law by adding a new section 148,
which shall require that menstrual products be provided at no cost in
every covered public building.
Section two establishes the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Menstruation is a basic biological function that more than half the
population experiences each month for approximately 40 years. Many
people who menstruate have reported missing days of work or school or
being late as a result of unexpected menstruation or an inability to
access menstrual products. Under previous laws to advance menstrual
equity, New York State enacted requirements for schools, correctional
facilities, and temporary shelters in New York State to provide free
menstrual products. Extending this requirement to all state government-
owned and operated buildings will provide even greater access to people
in need.
In 2022, Washington D.C. passed a law with unanimous support requiring
free products in District-owned and -operated public buildings. Ann
Arbor, Michigan also unanimously passed a law in 2021 requiring all
public restrooms in the city to carry menstrual products. Each city to
enact such a law further reinforces that menstrual products are just as
essential as soap and toilet paper and that it is common sense to have
them in all public restrooms. As the leading state in the movement for
menstrual equity, New York State should begin providing products in all
government buildings
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Undetermined.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become a law.