BILL NUMBER:  S6176

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to amend the correction law, in relation to
providing feminine hygiene products at no cost to individuals in
correctional facilities

 PURPOSE :

This bill will provide feminine hygiene products at no cost to
individuals housed in state and local correctional facilities.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section one amends the correction law by adding a new section 625.

Section two sets forth the effective date.

 JUSTIFICATION :

In correctional facilities across New York State, incarcerated women
are given an insufficient monthly supply of feminine hygiene products
or are required to purchase such products from the prison commissary.
The cost of feminine hygiene products can be high, forcing many
inmates to go without or use their own makeshift hygiene products.
Not only is this unsanitary, but it also creates an underground market
for feminine hygiene products with the prison walls.
              

At the Taconic State Correctional Facility, for example, one tampon
costs 24 cents. The average female inmate makes approximately 17 cents
per hour. Thus, female inmates must spend their week's earnings to
purchase a 20-count box of tampons, which still may be insufficient
for women whose periods last up to seven days or have heavy flows.

Feminine hygiene products are not a luxury, but a necessity, and
incarcerated women must be provided with access to feminine hygiene
products. This bill would correct the current injustice within New
York State correctional facilities by providing feminine hygiene
products at no cost for inmates. The New York State Department
Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) has said it will
institute a program to provide feminine hygiene products, but
legislation is necessary to ensure that the practice is comprehensive
and permanent.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

This is a new bill.

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

Undetermined

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect immediately.