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Data: Alliance for Period Supplies; Note: Includes legislation that went into effect in January 2023; Map: Madison Dong/Axios Visuals

Georgia is one of 12 states considering legislation to exempt menstrual products from taxation this year.

Twenty-three states and Washington, D.C. have already done it.

Driving the news: State Rep. Debbie Buckner (D-Junction City) has been pushing for the change since 2018 and this year again co-sponsored a bipartisan bill to exempt all period-related products from state tax.

Buckner told Axios while it hasn't yet gotten a vote this year, the bill "is still in play. There is a small chance it could make it across the finish line, which would involve being added on to some other bill."

Why it matters: The average cost of menstrual products is about $20 per cycle and adds up to about $18,000 over the average woman’s lifetime, Axios' Kelly Tyko reports.

One in four people in the U.S. who menstruate can't afford period products, according to the nonprofit Alliance for Period Supplies.

Tampon prices rose in the first half of 2022 by nearly 10% and pads by more than 8%, a NielsenIQ report found.

What's happening: Buckner argues this is "just a tax burden on women who already don't make as much as men. There is a non-equivalent for men."

"It is an unfair tax and it would be fair, equitable and nice for it to go away."

Zoom in: Buckner's years of efforts haven't eliminated the menstrual product tax yet, but she has helped secure now-annual state funding for nearly $1.5 million worth of products in low-income schools.

Georgia was the first state to allocate funds to address "period poverty," according to the advocacy group Georgia STOMP.

Buckner said girls were missing school every month for lack of access to period products. "I do not want girls in Georgia not going to school because they don't have period products," she said.

Of note: CVS Health started paying the tax on period products purchased in-store and online in some states last fall including Georgia, the company told Tyko.

The intrigue: Buckner told Axios resistance to the tax exemption appears to stem from colleagues' concerns that it could open up a "Pandora's box" of other requests for sales tax exemptions — and that it's not that much of a savings.

Yes, but: "How many symbolic statements of tax relief do we make, and why are they more important than this one?" Buckner said. "This makes up half the population of Georgia."

What's next: This year's session ends next Wednesday.

Should Georgia tampons be taxed?

Women's health

Georgia is one of 12 states considering legislation to exempt menstrual products from taxation this year.<ul><li>Twenty-three states and Washington, D.C. have already done it.</li></ul>

News

The bi-annual changing of the clocks takes place Sunday, but some federal lawmakers hope it's the last time we "spring forward" as they push to make daylight saving time permanent.

Why it matters: Georgia passed a law to stop falling back and springing forward — but nothing will happen until Congress acts.

Driving the news: Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) has reintroduced the Sunshine Protection Act, which was surprisingly approved by a unanimous vote in the Senate last year but wasn't voted on by the House.

The bill — and companion legislation in the House — would eliminate the changing of clocks and "if enacted, the U.S. would not 'fall back' in November and would enjoy a full year of DST, instead of only eight months," according to a fact sheet on the bill.

State of play: Health groups have called for an end to the seasonal shifting of clocks, a ritual first adopted in the U.S. more than a century ago.

More than two-thirds of Americans want to stop changing their clocks, according to a March 2022 YouGov poll.

Georgia is one of 19 states that have passed bills or resolutions since 2018 to make daylight saving time year-round if Congress acts, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Yes, but: Federal law says states can unilaterally move to standard time but must have the approval of Congress to adopt year-round daylight saving time.

Georgia's quest to ditch daylight saving time depends on Congress

The state passed a law to end the dreaded "spring forward, fall back" whiplash once federal lawmakers act.

The<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text=" bi-annual changing of the clocks" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2023/03/02/daylight-saving-time-change-permanent-congress" data-vars-content-id="fde84b6a-5cc7-4ea5-90b5-c96bcdfae240" data-vars-headline="Georgia&#x27;s quest to ditch daylight saving time depends on Congress" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/03/02/daylight-saving-time-change-permanent-congress" target="_self"> bi-annual changing of the clocks</a> takes place Sunday, but some federal lawmakers hope it&#x27;s the last time we &quot;spring forward&quot; as they push to make<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text=" daylight saving time permanent" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2022/11/05/daylight-savings-time-change-fall-2022" data-vars-content-id="fde84b6a-5cc7-4ea5-90b5-c96bcdfae240" data-vars-headline="Georgia&#x27;s quest to ditch daylight saving time depends on Congress" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2022/11/05/daylight-savings-time-change-fall-2022" target="_self"> daylight saving time permanent</a>.Why it matters: Georgia <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="passed" data-vars-click-url="https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/59365" data-vars-content-id="fde84b6a-5cc7-4ea5-90b5-c96bcdfae240" data-vars-headline="Georgia&#x27;s quest to ditch daylight saving time depends on Congress" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/59365" target="_blank">passed</a> a law to stop falling back and springing forward — but nothing will happen until Congress acts.

Kelly Tyko

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Should Georgia tampons be taxed?

Georgia's quest to ditch daylight saving time depends on Congress