Dave Mistich Published

W.Va. Senate Passes Bill Calling For State Jails, Prisons To Provide Free Feminine Hygiene Products

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Members of the West Virginia Senate have voted to provide free feminine hygiene products to inmates of the state’s prisons and jails. 

Senate Bill 484 would have the superintendent of a state correctional facility to provide inmates their choice of tampons or sanitary napkins within eight hours of a request.

The upper chamber passed the measure on a 32-0 vote. The proposal now heads to the House of Delegates.

In 2019, there were over 1,500 female inmates in the state’s prisons and jails. According to a fiscal note attached to Senate Bill 484, providing 2,000 cases of tampons to that many inmates would cost about $80,000 a year.

Other proposed legislation this session would require county boards of education to provide students free feminine hygiene products in schools.