Tampon Tax, Crown Act, Medical Cannabis, & CAB Issues
The 2024 Kansas Legislative Session starts on Monday January 8th, which means we are days away! It is sure to be a crazy session and I expect the craziness to continue right on until November since we are in another Presidential Election year. I am going to be updating regularly throughout the session on issues I am tracking along with groups like the Libertarian Party of Kansas and the Kansas Cannabis Coalition.
First up is House Bill 2009, which is asking for feminine hygiene products and diapers to sales tax exempt. While this bill does not have a planned hearing or anything, the Libertarian Party of Kansas asked me to write testimony so we can be ready. Second is Senate Bill 36 which is asking for ethnic hairstyles to be included in the existing Kansas Act Against Discrimination. This bill has been granted a hearing on Thursday, January 11th at 10:30 am. You can read more about these bills on the KS Legislature website and you can read the testimonies I have written for each below.
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Committee Chair and Members of the Committee,
My name is Olivia Hayse and I am the Marketing Director for the Libertarian Party of Kansas. We are a political party working to advance liberty for all Kansans. We support the passage of HB 2009, a bill that would allow for feminine hygiene products and diapers to be exempt from sales tax.
When it comes to feminine hygiene products, not very many of us have to worry about access, but accessibility is a solid factor for some of our most vulnerable women. Limited access to these products can lead to all manner of social, economic, and emotional issues for women and girls. The matter of accessibility is only exacerbated by the state continuing to allow sales tax to be charged on these products.
When it comes to diapers, any parent regardless of gender, family dynamic, or economic class knows the high financial burden of diapers, especially in those first few years of children’s lives.
If the past couple years have taught me anything about Kansas, it’s that legislators and voters alike care deeply about women and families. I can think of no better small but meaningful step that we could take to continue our record of helping women and families than to exempt feminine hygiene products and diapers from sales tax.
The passage of this bill is something that easily benefits all Kansans. Whether you are a mother, father, wife, husband, or single - at some point in your life you will most likely benefit from either of these products being tax free. In general, any step that lowers taxes, especially on essential items, is a step in the right direction.
I thank you each for the ways you serve your constituents, I ask you to consider these points going forward in your work and I ask that you vote in favor of HB 2009.
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Committee Chair and Members of the Committee,
My name is Olivia Hayse and I am the Marketing Director for the Libertarian Party of Kansas. We are a political party working to advance liberty for all Kansans. I personally support the passage of SB 36, a bill that would amend the definition of ancestry in the Kansas Act Against Discrimination to include traits historically associated with ancestry, including hair texture and protective hairstyles.
While I am generally not in favor of a state wielding its power to tell employers how to run their businesses, I do find it extremely important in this case that the State of Kansas lead by example and ensure that no citizen is being denied state services due to ethnic traits like hairstyle. Not only would I like to see the Kansas Act Against Discrimination amended to explicitly state this, I would like to make sure that all state agencies add similar items to their internal Human Resources policies.
According to the 2019 CROWN Workplace Research study, 80% of black women feel they have to change their hair from its natural state to fit in at the workplace. Also black women are 1.5x more likely to be sent home from the workplace because of their hair. According to a 2021 similar study focused on girls in public schools, 100% of black girls in predominantly white schools have experienced hair based discrimination by age 10. (Studies can be found at thecrownact.com).
While this bill would largely benefit black women, I believe it will also benefit all persons of color. It is not uncommon for black men and/or hispanic women to also face similar discriminations based on their hair. While it may seem like a small thing a person can do, to change their hair to fit in, in many cases it’s actually asking a human to deny part of their heritage. I believe that Kansas voters and legislators alike value heritage and would like to see us come together to show it.
I thank you each for the ways you serve your constituents, I ask you to consider these points going forward in your work and I ask that you vote in favor of SB 36, with special attention to how it affects state funded resources.
Another legislative item I want to share about is the Medical Marijuana Day of Action being hosted by ACLU Kansas. The details are below and you can register to attend with me and others here.
Tuesday January 24th
Kansas Capitol Building, Second Floor, North Wing
- 9:30 AM check in and breakfast
- 10:00 AM hear from organizers and community leaders about the harms caused by marijuana criminalization
- 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM meet with your legislators
Lastly, I want to take a moment to talk about some things happening more local to me. On Monday January 8th the newly elected Libertarian mayor of Wichita is being sworn in at a special city council meeting at 6 pm. While there is a lot of apprehension about just how Libertarian Ms. Wu is, I still plan to be in attendance to mark the accomplishment and I genuinely look forward to seeing what she does with her tenure. If you are local and want to attend, this event it open to the public. Details can be found here.
Finally, as some of you know I serve on a Citizens Advisory Board for Sedgwick County District 5. Serving on a board like this is a great way to get involved or at the very least to have a way of hearing what your local government is up to. I highly encourage you to look into serving opportunities like this in your city/county or consider attending regularly.
I personally find that my CAB started out strong. We were proactive at looking into issues in our district and making suggestions to both our commissioner and the rest of the Board of County Commissioners. However, thinking back on last year I saw us beg for citizen participation, only to do absolutely nothing with the information citizens brought to us (ie. club rodeo sound issues, meeting time suggestions).
I myself tried to point out that when new members are appointed, it would be great for team morale to simply communicate with us who the new members are, when they’re being sworn in, etc. Little bits of information that would help us all welcome the new members and foster a good team atmosphere. I brought this up the last two times new members were appointed. I understand its a small nicety that isn’t required in any way shape or form, I simply have a higher expectation for how I want things to be run. That can be on me.
What’s not on me is how one member of board leadership reacted to the suggestion this last time around. Let me just say this for anyone confused: when someone brings something to your attention that you maybe don’t understand, try asking questions. Don’t try doubling down, don’t try making insults, don’t try borderline gaslighting behavior.
The wealth of knowledge we have on my CAB is impressive. I believe most of us passionately care about making our district better. I sincerely hope for some changes in 2024 that will unleash both our board’s potential and ways we can serve our fellow citizens well.
That’s it for now! As always feel free to message me on any social media platform if you have questions, comments, or political issue you want me to focus on.
XO - Olivia
