S 2243 New Jersey Senate · 2026-2027 Regular Session

Requires each public institution of higher education to develop menstrual equity plan.*

S 2243 requires every public college and university in New Jersey to create a menstrual equity task force within six months of the law's effective date. The task force, appointed by each institution's president and including diverse campus stakeholders (students, faculty, housing, health centers, etc.), must develop a detailed plan for free menstrual product access within six months. The plan must cover product needs, distribution locations, costs, and a 12-month implementation timeline. Institutions must implement the approved plan within one year, ensuring equal access to menstrual products while reducing stigma. The bill defines "menstrual equity" as removing barriers to care and addressing stigma around menstruation.
Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Feb 2026
Senate Passage
Feb 2026
General Assembly Passage
Governor
Introduced Jan 13, 2026 Last action Feb 24, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Reprint · 4 edits
MODERATE
The Senate Higher Education Committee amended S 2243 to replace the mandatory 'menstrual equity task force' with a more flexible requirement that each public institution of higher education develop a menstrual equity plan. Presidents are now given discretion in how they accomplish this - they may direct the existing Campus Hunger Task Force, convene a new task force, or establish another initiative. The specific membership composition requirements for a task force were removed entirely.
REQUIREMENT

The core obligation changed from 'convene a menstrual equity task force' to 'develop a plan for the achievement of menstrual equity.' The president now has flexibility in method: they may direct the Campus Hunger Task Force (from P.L.2019, c.89), convene a new task force, or otherwise establish an initiative.

The detailed task force membership requirements were deleted. Previously, the task force had to include representatives of the student body, faculty and staff, administration, student housing, athletics, student health centers, on-campus food pantries, and facilities management.

ENFORCEMENT

The provision requiring each task force to expire 30 days after submitting its plan was removed, consistent with eliminating the mandatory task force structure.

SCOPE

The plan submission language changed from 'the task force shall submit to the president' to simply requiring that a plan 'shall be established,' removing the specific actor responsible for submission.

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
4
Key actions
1
Committee
1
Feb 24, 2026
Committee
Received in the Assembly, Referred to Assembly Aging and Human Services Committee
lower
Feb 24, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed by the Senate (38-0)
upper
Jan 13, 2026
Introduced
Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Higher Education Committee
upper
2 primary · 1 co-sponsor

Sponsors