In a 30-1 vote, Senate Bill 26 cleared the Ohio Senate and on November 6, Gov. Mike DeWine signed the proposal that would cut sales tax on menstrual products and supplying a tax credit to teachers who buy their own school supplies.

State Rep. Brigid Kelly (D-Cincinnati) and State Rep. Niraj Antani (R-Miamisburg) were provision sponsors for the repeal of the “pink tax”—the sales tax on products such as pads and tampons. Last December, Kelly made a similar proposal but it didn’t make it past Senate.

Kelly says that making these products more accessible it can ensure a better, healthier life. “When women have greater access to appropriate feminine products, they can go to school regularly, go to work regularly and more fully participate in their community,” Kelly told 10TV. 

Local activists, while thrilled with the outcome, say that it is only the first step and advocates are continuing their efforts to increase the access to menstrual products for those who can’t afford or lack access to these products. 

Anusha Singh is a student at Ohio State University that started a chapter of the nonprofit organization PERIOD on her campus last year. She told The Columbus Dispatch that “we have so much more work to do”. 

When the bill goes into effect on April 1, 2020, Ohio will join the 15 other states that have gotten rid of the pink tax.