Public voices largely positive views of county bill requiring free menstrual products

Businesses would be obligated to provide pads and tampons in restrooms

December 13, 2023 2:54 p.m.

While many advocates lauded a new bill in the Montgomery County Council that would require most businesses and other public spaces to provide free menstrual products in restrooms as an equity effort at a public hearing Tuesday, some constituents are concerned about the burden it could place on county businesses.

Liliana Katz-Hollander, a junior at Rockville’s Richard Montgomery High School and president of the school’s chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW), spoke in support of the bill, noting that county schools provide free menstrual products to students.

“Lack of access [to menstrual products] can prevent women from working and attending events. This is especially an issue for low-income menstruators as well as those who are suffering from homelessness,” Katz-Hollander said. “It is amazing that we provide period products in school but periods do not stop at graduation.” 

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According to the proposed legislation, Bill 42-23 would apply to “places of public accommodation” that are required by law to provide restroom facilities to their customers. The list includes facilities such as restaurants, hotels, movie theaters, concert and entertainment venues, sports arenas and recreational parks.

“No one asks me to carry toilet paper, no one asks me to carry paper towels,” councilmember Will Jawando (D-At-large), who is sponsoring the bill, said at a press conference Tuesday. “We’ve designed society to not be equitable for certain people. And it’s not right.”

But at a public hearing in County Council Chambers in Rockville on Tuesday, community members expressed mixed, though largely favoring, views.

Legislation supporters said the bill would increase access to menstrual products and lessen the stigma of menstruation.

Jhumka Gupta, a Montgomery County resident and associate professor in George Mason University’s College of Public Health, said her research focuses on the health impacts of lack of access to menstrual products. She said a study she conducted found that a lack of access can lead to greater risk of infection, because people who can’t afford menstrual products are less likely to change them frequently.

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“In the county, we are concerned about mental health. In our study, struggling to afford menstrual products was associated with depression,” Gupta said. “Specifically, those who reported difficulty with accessing menstrual products on a monthly basis were nearly three times more likely to report depressive symptoms than those without [lack of access].”

Lulu August, a Richard Montgomery County High School graduate and current Harvard University student, proposed the idea for the legislation when she was interning for Jawando’s office this past summer.

“There is just no reason why menstrual products are not widely accessible in Montgomery County,” August testified Tuesday. “I have found that when women and genderqueer people speak up about issues that are important to them, we have a societal tendency to dismiss the issue as too costly or too inconvenient or too low of a priority. But as many of the speakers before me have shown, this bill couldn’t be more urgent.”

Critics said the legislation will hurt local businesses and encourage customers to take more free menstrual products than they need. There is not a funding mechanism written into the legislation.

County resident Stacey Sauter said she believes it is each person’s individual responsibility to make sure they have adequate menstrual products.

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“Part of growing up is learning to anticipate your physical needs and part of being a grown-up is not expecting the county’s nanny state to take care of all your personal needs,” Sauter said. “If you’re adding this burden to businesses, they’re already fleeing this area or are deeply reluctant to start a business here … are adult diapers what’s next? Will we have condoms in all the men’s rooms?”

Matt Libber, executive director of Maryland SoccerPlex in Boyds, said he supports the goal of the legislation, however, he’s concerned about how businesses and nonprofits like his will fund the purchase of menstrual products. He estimates the legislation will cost SoccerPlex between $20,000 and $25,000 a year because the property has several restroom facilities.

“It’s something we need to move towards but right now it’s an unfunded mandate,” Libber said. Our budgets are already set. So this isn’t in our budget right now. …  I’m asking for some consideration for funding support from the county to help us transition to this.”

When asked at the press conference whether Jawando would consider investing county funding to help small businesses transition to offering menstrual products, he said he’d “be open” to it.

“If you have a public bathroom … if you’re providing a service, you already provide toilet paper and paper towels, and that’s part of your cost. This should be in that same category as hygiene. That being said, we’ll work through the legislative process,” Jawando said. “I’d be open to one-time funding, particularly for start-up costs.”

Jawando said businesses will not be required to install large metal dispensers, and brought a small wicker basket filled with pads and tampons to use as an example of what a business could set up. He said an analysis conducted by his office found that the program would cost an average of $1,000 a year if every customer took one product when they visited the restroom.

While Jawando has received support from County Executive Marc Elrich (D) and organizations including Planned Parenthood and the Maryland Association of Family Physician, he has not received co-sponsorship from any of his colleagues. He said Tuesday he’s not concerned, and is having conversations with the other councilmembers.

“I saw some people fidgeting in their chairs today. I saw some uncomfortability in talking about this issue,” Jawando said. “There’s a reason there’s a stigma, there’s a reason there’s period poverty. So I think part of this is an education effort, as with any legislation.”

If passed, Montgomery County would be one of the first jurisdictions across the country to enact such legislation. In 2021, Ann Arbor, Michigan became the first U.S. city to require businesses with public restrooms to provide free menstrual products. At least 17 states–including Maryland–and Washington, D.C. have passed laws requiring menstrual products to be free in public schools.

Maryland also provides free menstrual products to incarcerated individuals. Washington, D.C. and municipalities such as Brookline, Mass. require menstrual products to be provided in government-owned public buildings.

But legislation such as Jawando’s that would apply to most public facilities, including businesses, is less common.

The country of Scotland made international headlines for a 2022 decision to make menstrual products free for everyone.

A joint work session between the Economic Development and Health and Human Services committees is scheduled for Feb. 1. No vote on the bill is scheduled yet, but if passed, it would go into effect six months after being signed into law.

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