AUSTIN, Texas – Michelle Lenoch has her eight-week old daughter strapped to her chest as she helps a customer check out. At Enlightened Baby in Austin, little ones are taken care of behind the counter and in front of it. Whitney LeBlanc, the store’s owner, has three kids herself.

“June will be 10 years for us. And my oldest is 11. So we opened [Enlightened Baby] when she was 18 months. She's kind of my original employee,” she said with a smile. 

Helping families is her calling, which is why she supports a bill by Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, to cut the sales tax on all types of products like diapers, baby bottles, and maternity clothing. Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan made the bill one of his top priorities, writing in a statement, “It is essential that the Texas House makes meaningful progress this year on better supporting mothers and children in the state.” 

In three previous sessions, Rep. Howard filed bills to exempt feminine hygiene products from the sales tax, but none passed. Women in Austin are still paying an 8.25% sales tax on those products. Texas imposes a 6.25% sales tax, but local jurisdictions can add an additional two percent, according to the Comptroller.

“Golly, it's kind of crazy for us to tax these essential, essential things,” LeBlanc said. 

She added that women tend to bear many of these costs.

"As a family advances, as children come along, that's an expense women have to have. And then it just feels like it's one more way that we're being set back to tax it. So I think that any way that we can make those expenses more equal is good. It's good for all women," she said. 

A recent poll from the University of Houston's Hobby School of Public Affairs shows that 83% of Democrats and 69% of Republicans support exempting feminine hygiene products from the state sales tax.

"Obviously, the product still has to be purchased, so there is that cost," she said. "When you're living paycheck to paycheck, and trying to make decisions about food, transportation, medical care, and providing these kinds of essentials for your family, it's a hard choice to have to make. So being able to save some money here that can be used for the family budget, I think is a pretty important thing to do for our Texas families." 

She said one estimate from a diaper bank shows that this sales tax exemption could save families enough money a year to buy a month’s worth of diapers. And, many promises have been made by Republicans to take care of Texas families after the near-total abortion ban went into effect last summer. 

“One of the critiques that Republicans often receive from Democrats is that they don't care enough for children after they're born,” said Mark Jones, a political science professor at Rice University. “And so I think this session, we're going to see Republican support for legislation that looks postpartum.” 

Even though Rep. Howard thought removing the sales tax from feminine hygiene products was important long before this legislative session, she said the lack of access to legal abortion care in Texas makes it more urgent. 

“The need is really the same as it was before. It could be more of a need, though, in terms of the fact that we are expecting more people to be carrying through with unwanted pregnancies. And those that will be put in that position are those that have the least resources and won't be able to leave this state to get a legal abortion elsewhere,” Rep. Howard said. “So that means that we will have more low-income moms who are going to need more support. So in that sense, I think I could definitely say it's more needed now than ever.” 

Jones said Republicans are also more likely to go for the bill since the state has more than a $32 billion budget surplus. Rep. Howard said the comptroller is estimating her bill will cost the state a fraction of that at $200 million.

“We're in a flush budget situation where lawmakers on the Republican side are going to be less concerned than in other sessions with losses of tax revenue, because at the end of the day, when you exempt products–be it diapers or feminine hygiene products–you are going to reduce tax revenue,” Jones said. “However, with the strong state budget surplus… the legislators are not going to be all that concerned about it.” 

LeBlanc hopes lawmakers pass this legislation, so the moms she helps every day can have an extra boost of support.

“I just love where this is going. I'm so grateful that people are becoming aware and thinking of ways that we can support each other,” she said. “And, it isn't just the status quo: ‘This is what we do, even though it's kind of unfair.’ No, we can reevaluate things. And when you know better, you do better.” 

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