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

Nevada Question 5
Election date November 5, 2024
Topic Taxes
Status a Approved
Type State statute	Origin State legislature

Nevada Question 5, the Sales Tax Exemption for Diapers Measure, was on the ballot in Nevada as a legislatively referred state statute on November 5, 2024. The ballot measure was approved.

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

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

Election results

Nevada Question 5
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		942,828	68.50%
No		433,583	31.50%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Overview

What did this measure do?

See also: Text of measure

The measure amended 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.

Did other states exempt diapers from sales tax?

See also: Sales tax on diaper purchases by state

As of 2024, nineteen states, along with the District of Columbia, exempted diapers from taxation. These states were 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.

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.

Text of measure

Ballot title

The official ballot title was as follows:

“

Shall the Sales and Use Tax Act of 1955 be amended to provide an exemption from the taxes imposed by this Act on the gross receipts from the sale and the storage, use or other consumption of diapers?

”

Full text

The full text of the ballot initiative is below:

Readability score

See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2024

Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title for this measure. Readability scores are designed to indicate the reading difficulty of text. The Flesch-Kincaid formulas account for the number of words, syllables, and sentences in a text; they do not account for the difficulty of the ideas in the text. The secretary of state wrote the ballot language for this measure.

The FKGL for the ballot title is grade level 15, and the FRE is 50. The word count for the ballot title is 37.

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 did not locate a campaign in opposition to the ballot measure.

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.

	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
Total	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00

Media editorials

See also: 2024 ballot measure media endorsements

Support

The following media editorial boards published an editorial supporting the ballot measure:

• Las Vegas Sun Editorial Board: "Exempting child and adult diapers from sales tax is a sound public policy decision that can alleviate financial burdens on families and individuals, promote public health and ensure greater equity. Diapers are a basic necessity, not a luxury, and treating them as taxable items disproportionately affects low-income households, seniors and people with disabilities who rely on these products daily. Eliminating the sales tax on diapers helps reduce the overall cost for families and caregivers, making it easier to meet essential needs without sacrificing other important expenses like food or health care. Furthermore, access to affordable diapers is closely tied to public health. Babies and adults who lack an adequate supply of diapers may experience rashes, infections or other medical issues, which can lead to higher health care costs for them as individuals and for society. By making diapers more affordable through a tax exemption, the policy helps reduce the risk of such health complications and leads to better health outcomes."

Opposition

Ballotpedia did not locate media editorial boards in opposition to the ballot measure.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	21	0	0
Total percent	100%	0%	0%
Democrat	13	0	0
Republican	8	0	0

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
	Yes	No	Not voting
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

See below to learn more about current voter registration rules, identification requirements, and poll times in Nevada.

How to vote in Nevada

Poll times

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

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.

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.

Nevada also allows same-day registration.

Automatic registration

Nevada automatically registers eligible individuals to vote through the Department of Motor Vehicles.

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.

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.

Verification of citizenship

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

Nevada does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration. An individual applying to register to vote must attest that they are a U.S. citizen under penalty of perjury.

All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment. Seven states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Wyoming — have laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration, whether in effect or not. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allows noncitizens to vote in some local elections. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters.

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.

See also

2024 measures

• 2024 ballot measures
• Taxes on the ballot

Nevada

• Nevada ballot measures
• Nevada ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls

External links

• Full text