SALEM — Oregon prisons and jails would have to provide a range of sanitary products including tampons to incarcerated women and girls free-of-charge, under a proposal moving quickly through the state Legislature this week. 

House Bill 2515 reflects the direction most Oregon correctional facilities have already gone voluntarily, for example when the state’s lone women’s prison — Coffee Creek Correctional Institution — opted last year to provide free tampons to inmates. 

Many county jails, juvenile jails and state youth lockup facilities also already provide tampons and other menstrual products at no charge, according to one of the bill’s chief sponsors, Rep. Margaret Doherty, D-Tigard.  The Oregon House passed the bill unanimously with no discussion on Monday. 

The bill’s mandate to provide the products to people who menstruate covers all correctional facilities. 

Earlier this year, House Majority Leader Jennifer Williamson, D-Portland, considered expanding the mandate to cover facilities that care for foster children, following news that teenagers at a Klamath Falls program did not have free access to tampons.  The program operated by the local juvenile detention department served both foster youth and teens in the state’s custody for committing crimes. 

In late May, Williamson’s spokesman Aaron Fiedler said the representative had been reassured by child welfare officials that they had “policies in place requiring free tampons and other sanitary products be available in their residential programs for kids in foster care.” 

“Rep. Williamson will be keeping an eye out to ensure that those policies are being properly implemented, and, if needed, is prepared to act in the future,” Fiedler wrote in an email. “ Access to tampons and other sanitary products should be a right for everyone in the custody of the state.” 

State budget analysts predicted it could cost approximately $100,000 for the Oregon Department of Corrections to provide the expanded list of sanitary products at no cost to inmates, out of a two-year state general fund budget of at least $23.6 billion.  The Oregon Youth Authority already provides the products. 

— Hillary Borrud | hborrud@oregonian.com | 503-294-4034 | @hborrud

Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox.