Giving Compass' Take:

• Lawmakers in Georgia have created a budget that will take effect in 2020 to provide tampons and pads to low-income citizens in an effort. 

• What are some challenges in achieving menstrual equity? What role are policymakers in other states doing to end period poverty?

• Here's an article on a teen who took a stand in her school to end period poverty. 

The state has allocated funds in its 2020 fiscal year budget to equip schools and community centers in low-income areas with period products, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Out of the state’s $27.5 billion budget, $1.5 million will fund the initiative, effective in July. However, the funding is a one-time allocation, and will not necessarily be included in future budgets.

After stopping efforts to remove Georgia’s “tampon tax” — which taxes menstrual hygiene products as luxury items at 4% — Republican Rep. Jan Jones reportedly negotiated with lawmakers to include period product funding in the 2020 budget.

Jones, who is also the state’s Speaker Pro Tempore of the House, said she believes the measure more directly addresses the needs of those experiencing period poverty, though many experts still advocate for ending the tampon tax as well.

Read the full article about Georgia's new period poverty initiative by Leah Rodriguez at Global Citizen.