LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A state lawmaker wants to make child and adult diapers except from sales tax. State Sen. Cassie Chambers Armstrong, D-Louisville, shared her proposal last week with fellow lawmakers during an interim committee meeting.
Chamber Armstrong says she intends to file the bill next year and told Spectrum News 1 in a statement, that others have shown support for this tax exemption.
“We know that thousands of Kentucky families struggle to afford diapers, and eliminating the sales tax on diapers is an important tool to support our families in need,” Chambers Armstrong said. “I’ve been glad to see this policy proposal receive a warm reception from lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle, and I look forward to working with other lawmakers to move this proposal forward.”
Eighteen states and Washington D.C. have already eliminated sales tax on these products, according to the National Diaper Bank Network.
Kentucky’s only diaper bank supports the exception as well.
Started a decade ago, the Saint Bernadette Diaper Bank supports 30 organizations in Jefferson County. The diaper bank, which runs solely by donations, distributes thousands of diapers each month. In September, they gave away over 54,000 diapers.
Deanna Hornback, who runs the diaper bank with her husband, says if the state were to eliminate the tax on these products, it would mean families could purchase over 200 diapers with the savings.
“And with somebody with need, that’s a lot. That’s a lot of changes when you’re keeping your baby in one diaper,” Hornback said.
Hornback says the demand, especially since the pandemic, has risen for their services. Unfortunately, she adds, because of their size, they’re only able to help in Jefferson County, but all areas of the state could use their help.
“Most states have two, three or four diaper banks. Kentucky has one,” Hornback said.
Around 20 volunteers spent hours Monday preparing their stockpile of items. Diapers are plastic wrapped into packs of 25, then packed into boxes of either 100 or 150. Soon, organizations that work directly with families in need will pick them up.
“You know, you hear so much about the bad in the world and we see so much of the good. You know, that’s that’s the amazing part,” Cheryl Leadbeater, one of the volunteers, said.
Leadbeater also is Hornback’s mother, and started a diaper bank of her own in Virginia. Following the passing of her husband, she moved back to Kentucky and now helps her daughter’s mission.
“To think of a baby that has to stay in the same diaper all day long, you know, it’s like that touched me,” Leadbeater said.
Both women are hopeful lawmakers will come together and pass this proposed legislation.
The Saint Bernadette Diaper Bank will host a Stuff the Truck event on Wednesday. They’re asking the community to donate new diapers at the Outer Loop Plaza Value Market in Louisville between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m.