Today, ahead of the Thursday budget release, Governor Newsom and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom joined members of the California Legislative Women’s Caucus to preview a package of proposals in the budget focused on helping parents. The proposals, which the administration is calling its “Parents Agenda,” address specific cost of living issues faced by young parents and parents of small children.
This includes a sales and use tax exemption for diapers, which Help a Mother Out (HAMO) applauds, with this statement from Founder and Executive Director Lisa Truong:
“Every baby deserves a healthy supply of diapers. But the cost can be prohibitive to families in need. In the Bay Area alone,tens of thousands of children under the age of 3 live in a household with income under the California Poverty Measure, and diapers are not covered by public assistance programs such as SNAP (aka food stamps) or WIC (Women, Infants, and Children). This proposed tax exemption represents a significant step forward, benefiting families across California and relieving some of the financial pressure so many parents face when raising kids here. Assembly Member Lorena Gonzalez has led the campaign to repeal the diaper tax, having introduced legislation several years in a row, but never gaining passage of the bill. Help a Mother Out and a coalition of other diaper banks supported this year's bill AB 66. We now call on the Senate and Assembly to support Governor Newsom’s request to include repeal of diaper tax in the Budget Act of 2019.”
Help a Mother Out® works to improve baby and family well being by increasing access to diapers for families in need. A family’s access to a reliable supply of clean diapers reduces the risk of infectious disease outbreaks, improves baby’s health and comfort, and enables baby’s participation in early care and education programs. The non-profit organization has distributed more than 10 million diapers to Bay Area families since its founding in 2009.