Bill Text: CA AB10 | 2017-2018 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Feminine hygiene products: public school restrooms.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-1)

Status: (Passed) 2017-10-12 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 687, Statutes of 2017. [AB10 Detail]

Download: California-2017-AB10-Amended.html

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Amended  IN  Assembly  May 30, 2017

Amended  IN  Assembly  April 06, 2017

Amended  IN  Assembly  March 07, 2017

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 10

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Introduced by Assembly Member Cristina Garcia
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Cooley, Gomez, and Jones-Sawyer)
(Coauthors: Senators Wieckowski and Wiener)

December 05, 2016

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An act to amend Section 35292.5 of, and to add Section 66026.5 to, add Section 35292.6 to the Education Code, and to add Division 30 (commencing with Section 46090) to the Health and Safety Code, relating to feminine hygiene products.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 10, as amended, Cristina Garcia. Feminine hygiene products: public school and college bathrooms :shelter services. restrooms.

Existing law, with certain exceptions, requires every public and private school, as provided, to have restroom facilities that are open as prescribed during school hours, and at all times to keep every restroom maintained and cleaned regularly, fully operational, and stocked with soap and paper supplies.

This bill would additionally require public and private schools to keep every restroom stocked with feminine hygiene products. require a public school maintaining any combination of classes from grade 6 to grade 12, inclusive, that meets a 40% pupil poverty threshold specified in federal law to stock 50% of the school’s restrooms with feminine hygiene products, as defined, and to provide the feminine hygiene products at no charge. By imposing additional duties on public schools, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

Existing law, the Donahoe Higher Education Act, sets forth, among other things, the missions and functions of California’s public and independent segments of higher education. Provisions of the act apply to the University of California only to the extent that the Regents of the University of California, by resolution, act to make them applicable.

This bill would require public and private institutions of higher education, including the California State University, each community college district, and the governing board of each independent institution of higher education, and would encourage the Regents of the University of California, to provide an adequate supply of feminine hygiene products sufficient to meet the needs of female students at each campus in their respective jurisdictions and to ensure that female students have direct access to feminine hygiene products in college bathrooms. By imposing additional duties on community college districts, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

Existing law requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to administer the Emergency Housing and Assistance Program. Under that program, existing law prohibits an individual or household from being denied emergency shelter because of an inability to pay. For these purposes, existing law defines “emergency shelter” as housing with minimal supportive services for homeless persons that is limited to occupancy of 6 months or less by a homeless person.

Under existing law known as the Domestic Violence Shelter-Based Programs Act, domestic violence shelter-based programs are required to provide specified basic services to victims of domestic violence and their children. Existing law defines a domestic violence shelter for these purposes.

This bill, except as specified, would require an eligible organization providing emergency shelter and a domestic violence shelter to ensure adequate and timely access to free menstrual products, as defined, to all menstruating persons who receive services from the organization or shelter. The bill would require a city, county, or city and county to adopt an ordinance establishing enforcement mechanisms for an organization or shelter to comply with these requirements. The bill would also require a city, county, or city and county to compile and submit a report documenting compliance with these requirements to specified legislative committees by a certain date. By imposing new duties on a city, county, or city and county, the bill would create a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

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Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

 Section 35292.6 is added to the Education Code, to read:

35292.6.

 (a) A public school maintaining any combination of classes from grade 6 to grade 12, inclusive, that meets the 40-percent pupil poverty threshold required to operate a schoolwide program pursuant to Section 6314(a)(1)(A) of Title 20 of the United States Code shall stock at least 50 percent of the school’s restrooms with feminine hygiene products at all times.

(b) A school shall provide feminine hygiene products pursuant to subdivision (a) at no charge.

(c) For purposes of this section, “feminine hygiene products” means tampons and sanitary napkins for use in connection with the menstrual cycle.

SEC. 2.

 If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

SECTION 1.Section 35292.5 of the Education Code is amended to read:

35292.5.

(a)Every public and private school maintaining any combination of classes from kindergarten to grade 12, inclusive, shall comply with all of the following:

(1)Every restroom shall at all times be maintained and cleaned regularly, fully operational and stocked at all times with toilet paper, feminine hygiene products, soap, and paper towels or functional hand dryers.

(2)The school shall keep all restrooms open during school hours when pupils are not in classes, and shall keep a sufficient number of restrooms open during school hours when pupils are in classes.

(b)Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a school may temporarily close a restroom as necessary for pupil safety or as necessary to repair the facility.

(c)For purposes of this section, “feminine hygiene products” means tampons and sanitary napkins for use in connection with the menstrual cycle.

SEC. 2.Section 66026.5 is added to the Education Code, to read:

66026.5.

(a)Public and private institutions of higher education, including the California State University, each community college district, and the governing board of each independent institution of higher education, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 66010, are required, and the Regents of the University of California are encouraged, to provide an adequate supply of feminine hygiene products sufficient to meet the needs of female students at each campus in their respective jurisdictions and to ensure that female students have direct access to feminine hygiene products in college bathrooms.

(b)For purposes of this section, “feminine hygiene products” means tampons and sanitary napkins for use in connection with the menstrual cycle.

SEC. 3.Division 30 (commencing with Section 46090) is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:

30.Shelter Services

46090.

(a)To prevent unnecessary medical emergencies among homeless Californians, an eligible organization providing emergency shelter as defined in Section 50801 of the Health and Safety Code and a domestic violence shelter as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 18291 of the Welfare and Institutions Code shall ensure adequate and timely access to free menstrual products to all menstruating persons who receive services from the organization or shelter.

(b)If an organization or shelter already has an established standard of care or is in compliance with a city, county, or city and county ordinance requiring access to free menstrual products, and the standard of care or ordinance is consistent with and not in conflict with this division, the organization or shelter shall be exempt from the requirements of this division. If any funding were to be made available to an organization or shelter to carry out the requirements of this division, nothing in this division shall be construed to prohibit an exempt organization or shelter from seeking that funding and being reimbursed for costs associated with providing free menstrual products to persons served by the organization or shelter.

(c)A city, county, or city and county with at least one organization or shelter within its jurisdiction which is subject to the requirements of this division and not exempt pursuant to subdivision (b) shall adopt an ordinance establishing enforcement mechanisms for an organization or shelter to comply with the requirements of this division.

(d)(1)A city, county, or city and county subject to this division shall compile and submit a report documenting compliance with this division to the Assembly Committee on Housing and Community Development and the Senate Committee on Transportation and Housing Committee no later than January 1, 2020.

(2)This subdivision shall become inoperative on January 1, 2022, pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code.

(e)For the purposes of this division, “menstrual products” means tampons and sanitary napkins for use in connection with the menstrual cycle.

(f)Nothing in this division shall be construed to prohibit a city, county, or city and county from enacting or enforcing an ordinance consistent with and not in conflict with this division.

(g)Nothing in this division shall be construed to prohibit a city, county, or city and county to, by ordinance, require other entities not subject to this division from providing menstrual products to the people they serve.

SEC. 4.

If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.