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| 2 | 2 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3080 FILED ON: 1/16/2025 |
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| 3 | 3 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2390 |
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| 4 | 4 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 5 | 5 | | _________________ |
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| 6 | 6 | | PRESENTED BY: |
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| 7 | 7 | | Marjorie C. Decker and Mindy Domb |
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| 8 | 8 | | _________________ |
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| 9 | 9 | | To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General |
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| 10 | 10 | | Court assembled: |
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| 11 | 11 | | The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill: |
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| 12 | 12 | | An Act expanding access to hygiene products. |
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| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
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| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
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| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Marjorie C. Decker25th Middlesex1/16/2025Sean Garballey23rd Middlesex1/23/2025Natalie M. Higgins4th Worcester2/12/2025James B. EldridgeMiddlesex and Worcester3/3/2025James C. Arena-DeRosa8th Middlesex3/11/2025 1 of 2 |
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| 16 | 16 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3080 FILED ON: 1/16/2025 |
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| 17 | 17 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2390 |
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| 18 | 18 | | By Representatives Decker of Cambridge and Domb of Amherst, a petition (accompanied by |
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| 19 | 19 | | bill, House, No. 2390) of Marjorie C. Decker, Sean Garballey and others relative to expanding |
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| 20 | 20 | | access to hygiene products. Public Health. |
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| 21 | 21 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 22 | 22 | | _______________ |
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| 23 | 23 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court |
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| 24 | 24 | | (2025-2026) |
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| 25 | 25 | | _______________ |
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| 26 | 26 | | An Act expanding access to hygiene products. |
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| 27 | 27 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 28 | 28 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 29 | 29 | | 1 SECTION 1. Chapter 111I of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official |
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| 30 | 30 | | 2Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after section 7 the following section;- |
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| 31 | 31 | | 3 Section 8. (a) For the purposes of this section, the following words shall have the |
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| 32 | 32 | | 4following meanings unless the context clearly requires otherwise: |
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| 33 | 33 | | 5 “Hygiene insecurity”, a person or family's inability to afford the most basic hygiene |
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| 34 | 34 | | 6products. |
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| 35 | 35 | | 7 “Hygiene product”, products that include, but are not limited to, deodorant, diapers, |
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| 36 | 36 | | 8feminine products, soap, shampoo, toothbrushes, and toothpaste. |
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| 37 | 37 | | 9 (b) The department, in partnership with the department of transitional assistance, shall |
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| 38 | 38 | | 10establish a task force to study the feasibility of including hygiene products under the WIC |
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| 39 | 39 | | 11program. The task force shall consist of: the undersecretary of human services of the executive 2 of 2 |
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| 40 | 40 | | 12office of health and human services or a designee, who shall serve as chair; the secretary of the |
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| 41 | 41 | | 13executive office of administration and finance or a designee; the commissioner of the department |
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| 42 | 42 | | 14or a designee; the commissioner of the department of transitional assistance or a designee; the |
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| 43 | 43 | | 15director of the WIC program; 1 member appointed by Hope And Comfort Inc.; 1 member |
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| 44 | 44 | | 16appointed by Community Action Pioneer Valley, Inc.; 1 member appointed by Neighbors In |
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| 45 | 45 | | 17Need, Inc.; 1 member appointed by the Mass National Organization For Women Foundation, |
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| 46 | 46 | | 18Inc.; and no less than three participants in the WIC program from geographically diverse regions |
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| 47 | 47 | | 19of the commonwealth. |
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| 48 | 48 | | 20 (c) The task force shall file a report no later than January 1, 2027 with the clerks of the |
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| 49 | 49 | | 21senate and the house of representatives, the joint committee on children, families and persons |
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| 50 | 50 | | 22with disabilities, the joint committee on public health, and the senate and house committees on |
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| 51 | 51 | | 23ways and means. The report shall include, but not be limited to: (i) an analysis of hygiene |
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| 52 | 52 | | 24insecurity in the commonwealth; (ii) a survey of existing public programs and services that |
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| 53 | 53 | | 25address hygiene insecurity, (iii) recommendations to address hygiene insecurity, and (iv) the |
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| 54 | 54 | | 26feasibility of adopting the purchase of hygiene products as allowable activities under the WIC |
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| 55 | 55 | | 27program. |
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| 56 | 56 | | 28 (d) The task force shall accept public comment to inform the report outlined in subsection |
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| 57 | 57 | | 29(c). |
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