Nevada Question 5, Sales Tax Exemption for Diapers Measure (2024)

Nevada Question 5
	Election date; November 5, 2024
	Topic; Taxes
	Status; On the ballot
Type; State statute	Origin; State legislature

Nevada Question 5, the Sales Tax Exemption for Diapers Measure, is on the ballot in Nevada as a legislatively referred state statute on November 5, 2024.^[1]

A "yes" vote supports amending the Sales and Use Tax of 1955 to provide a sales tax exemption for child and adult diapers.

A "no" vote opposes amending the Sales and Use Tax of 1955 to provide a sales tax exemption for child and adult diapers.

Overview

What would this measure do?

See also: Text of measure

The measure would amend the Sales and Use Tax of 1955 to provide a sales tax exemption for both child and adult diapers, including disposable diapers. The sales and use tax is on the total revenue generated from the sale and storage, use, or consumption of tangible personal property in Nevada.^[1]

Do other states exempt diapers from sales tax?

See also: Sales tax on diaper purchases by state

Nineteen states, along with the District of Columbia, exempt diapers from taxation. These states are California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont, and Virginia. Twenty-six states did not exempt diapers from taxation, and five states—Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon—do not have a state sales tax.^[2]

What is the Sales and Use Tax?

See also: Nevada Sales and Use Tax Act

The Sales and Use Tax Act is the law addressing the sales tax in Nevada, including what products are exempted from the sales tax. Exemptions to the sales tax include farm machinery and equipment, food, prosthetic devices, newspapers, and other items. Recent exemptions approved by voters included feminine products and durable medical equipment, oxygen delivery equipment, and mobility enhancing equipment, which were both approved by voters in 2018.^[3]

Text of measure

Full text

The full text of the ballot initiative is below:^[1]

Support

Supporters

Organizations

Baby's Bounty
Battle Born Progress

Arguments

Kelly Maxwell, executive director of Baby’s Bounty: "Without a sufficient supply of clean diapers babies are at risk for a host of illnesses including skin infections, rashes, urinary tract infections, and viral meningitis. With newborns requiring 8-10 diapers per day, families can spend over $1,200 per year on diapering supplies. In addition to the health consequences, diapers play a crucial role in our economy, profoundly impacting the opportunities available to parents. Without an adequate supply of diapers, parents are unable to send their children to daycare, preventing their attendance at work or school. 57% of parents missed an average of four days of school or work in the past month due to a lack of diapers. We need to ensure that essentials such as diapers are not so costly that our families have no other choice but to forego their jobs or education because affording them is just out of reach."
Brian Harris, representing Battle Born Progress: "The sale of diapers is necessary for families with infants or young children; therefore it should be exempt from sales tax. As a father of a toddler, I know from experience that diapers I had to buy for just one child, so I can only imagine how expensive it can be for a family with more than one child and they have to buy diapers in bulk. Diapers are not a luxury item, but a basic necessity for the health and hygiene of infants and young children."

Opposition

Opponents

Ballotpedia has not located a campaign in opposition to the ballot measure. You can share campaign information or arguments, along with source links for this information, with us at editor@ballotpedia.org.

Campaign finance

See also: Campaign finance requirements for Nevada ballot measures

Ballotpedia has not identified ballot measure committees registered to support or oppose the ballot measure.^[4]

	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
Support	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Oppose	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00

Background

Nevada Sales and Use Tax Act of 1955

In 1956, voters in Nevada approved Question 8, a referendum that prohibited the Nevada State Legislature from amending or repealing the Sales and Use Tax Act of 1955 without voter approval. The Sales and Use Tax Act is the law addressing the sales tax in Nevada, including what products are exempted from the sales tax. The sales and use tax is on the total revenue generated from the sale and storage, use, or consumption of tangible personal property in Nevada.^[3]

There are exemptions to the sales tax, including for farm machinery and equipment, food, prosthetic devices, newspapers, and other items. In 2018, Nevada voters approved Question 2, which exempted feminine hygiene products from the sales and use tax, by 56%-46%, and approved Question 4, which exempted durable medical equipment, oxygen delivery equipment, and mobility enhancing equipment by 67%-32%.

Sales tax in Nevada

As of 2023, the state sales tax in Nevada was 6.85 percent. Counties of Nevada were also permitted to enact an additional sales tax. The highest sales tax was in Washoe County, where the county levied a 1.415 percent tax in addition to the state's 6.85 percent tax for a total of 8.265 percent. Eureka County, Esmeralda County, Humboldt County, and Mineral County did not levy an additional county sales tax.^[5]

Sales tax on diaper purchases by state

As of June 2023, 26 states charged a sales tax on diapers, according to the National Diaper Bank Network. Nineteen (19) states, along with the District of Columbia, exempted diapers from taxation. Five states did not have a state sales tax.^[2]

The map below shows the state by state comparison of statewide sales taxation of diapers.

Path to the ballot

A simple majority vote is required during one legislative session for the Nevada State Legislature to place a state statute on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 22 votes in the Nevada State Assembly and 11 votes in the Nevada State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Statutes require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.

The measure was introduced as Senate Bill 428 (SB 428). It was approved by the Senate by 21-0 on May 31, 2023. It was approved by the Assembly by 41-0 on June 4, 2023. Gov. Joe Lombardo (R) signed the bill on June 15, 2023.^[1]

	Yes	No	Not voting
Vote in the Nevada State Senate May 31, 2023
Requirement: Simple majority vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 11 a
Total	21	0	0
Total percent	100%	0%	0%
Democrat	13	0	0
Republican	8	0	0

	Yes	No	Not voting
Vote in the Nevada House of Representatives June 4, 2023
Requirement: Simple majority vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 22 a
Total	41	0	1
Total percent	97.6%	0%	2.3%
Democrat	27	0	1
Republican	14	0	0

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in Nevada

Click "Show" to learn more about current voter registration rules, identification requirements, and poll times in Nevada.

How to cast a vote in Nevada

Poll times

All polling places in Nevada are open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Pacific Time. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote.^[6]^[7]

Registration

Check your voter registration status here.

To register to vote in Nevada, each applicant must be must a citizen of the United States, a resident of Nevada for at least 30 days before the election, and at least 18 years old by the day of the election. Seventeen-year-olds can preregister to vote. Anyone who has been declared mentally incompetent by a court may not register to vote.^[8] A voter registration application can be completed in person at the county clerk’s office, the Department of Motor Vehicles, other social service agencies, or college campuses. In-person registration must be completed 28 days before regular elections; registration forms submitted by mail must be postmarked by the same day. Online applications must be submitted by the Thursday before regular elections.^[9]^[8]

Automatic registration

Nevada automatically registers eligible individuals to vote through the Department of Motor Vehicles.^[10]

Online registration

See also: Online voter registration

Nevada has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website.

Same-day registration

Nevada allows same-day voter registration at polling places during early voting and on election day.^[8]

Residency requirements

In order to register to vote in Nevada, applicants must be a resident of the state for at least 30 days prior to the election.^[8]

Verification of citizenship

See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States

Nevada does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration.^[11]

Verifying your registration

The Nevada Secretary of State’s office allows residents to check their voter registration status online by visiting this website.

Voter ID requirements

Nevada does not require voters to present identification while voting, in most cases. A voter in Nevada must sign his or her name in the election board register at his or her polling place. The signature is compared with the signature on the voter's original application to vote or another form of identification, such as a driver's license, a state identification card, military identification, or another government-issued ID.^[12]

External links

Full text

Footnotes

[Overview-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 Nevada State Legislature, "SB 428," accessed June 8, 2023

[diaperbank-2] 2.0 ^2.1 National Diaper Bank Network, "Diaper Tax," accessed July 20, 2023

[statutes-3] 3.0 ^3.1 Nevada Revised Statutes, "Chapter 372 - Sales and Use Taxes," accessed July 10, 2023

[fin-4] Nevada Secretary of State, "Campaign Finance," accessed July 10, 2023

[5] Nevada Department of Taxation, "Sales Tax Map," accessed July 10, 2023

[6] Nevada Revised Statutes, "Title 24, Chapter 293, Section 273," accessed April 17, 2023

[7] ACLU of Nevada, "Know Your Voting Rights - Voting in Nevada," accessed April 17, 2023

[NVSoS-8] 8.0 ^8.1 ^8.2 ^8.3 Nevada Secretary of State, “Elections,” accessed April 17, 2023

[9] Nevada Secretary of State, “Registering to Vote,” accessed April 17, 2023

[10] Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles, “Voter Registration,” accessed April 17, 2023

[11] The Nevada Independent, “The Indy Explains: How does Nevada verify a voter's eligibility?” April 23, 2017

[12] Nevada Revised Statutes, "NRS 293.277 Conditions for entitlement of person to vote; forms of identification to identify registered voter." accessed April 17, 2023

[1]

Nevada Question 5

Election date November 5, 2024
Topic Taxes
Status On the ballot
Type State statute	Origin State legislature

	v • e State of Nevada Carson City (capital)
Elections	What's on my ballot? \| Elections in 2024 \| How to vote \| How to run for office \| Ballot measures
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