AN ACT Relating to providing an exemption from the sales and use tax for the sales of breast pumps, breast pump collection and storage supplies, breast pump kits, breast pump parts, and certain services to maintain and repair breast pumps; adding a new section to chapter 82.08 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 82.12 RCW; creating new sections; providing an effective date; and providing expiration dates.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that breast pumps, breast pump collection and storage supplies, breast pump parts, and certain services to maintain and repair breast pumps are basic necessities that should be exempt from sales and use tax--just as infant formula is not subject to sales and use taxes currently--even if they do not fall within the overly rigid definition of durable medical equipment.

The legislature finds further that these pumps and supplies are to express and collect breast milk for a variety of reasons, including when infants are premature and unable to latch, when infants have severe feeding problems, when mothers have difficulty establishing or maintaining an adequate milk supply, when mothers have temporary breastfeeding problems, and when mothers and infants are separated for prolonged periods due to hospitalization. The pumps and supplies also empower an increasing number of mothers to continue to feed breast milk to newborns for longer periods when they return to work following the birth of their infants.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. (1) This section is the tax preference performance statement for the tax preference contained in sections 3 and 4, chapter . . ., Laws of 2020 (sections 3 and 4 of this act). This performance statement is only intended to be used for subsequent evaluation of the tax preference. It is not intended to create a private right of action by any party or to be used to determine eligibility for preferential tax treatment.

(2) The legislature categorizes this tax preference as one intended to provide tax relief for certain businesses or individuals, pursuant to RCW 82.32.808(2)(e).

(3) It is the legislature's specific public policy objective to facilitate the provision of breast milk to infants and provide the same tax preference as given to infant formula.

(4) If the review finds that there are increased sales of breast pumps and other exempted items under this act as compared to the calendar year prior to the imposition of the sales and use tax exemption, then the legislature intends to extend the expiration date of this tax preference.

(5) In order to obtain the data necessary to perform the review in subsection (4) of this section, the joint legislative audit and review committee may refer to any data collected by the state.

(1) The tax levied by RCW 82.08.020 does not apply to sales of a breast pump, repair and replacement parts therefor, and breast pump collection and storage supplies.

(2) The tax levied by RCW 82.08.020 does not apply to charges for installing repair and replacement parts in, maintaining, servicing, or repairing of a breast pump, repair and replacement parts therefor, and breast pump collection and storage supplies.

(a) "Breast pump" means an electrically or manually controlled pump device designed and marketed to be used to express milk from a human breast during lactation. "Breast pump" includes the electrically or manually controlled pump device and any battery, AC adapter, or other power supply unit packaged and sold with the pump device at the time of sale to power the pump device.

(b) "Breast pump collection and storage supplies" means items of tangible personal property designed or marketed to be used in conjunction with a breast pump to collect milk expressed from a human breast and store collected milk until it is ready for consumption.

(i) "Breast pump collection and storage supplies" includes, but is not limited to: Breast shields and breast shield connectors; breast pump tubes and tubing adapters; breast pump valves and membranes; backflow protectors and backflow protector adaptors; bottle and bottle caps specific to the operation of the breast pump; breast milk storage bags; and other items that may be useful to initiate, support, or sustain breastfeeding using a breast pump during lactation, that may be sold separately, but are generally sold as part of a breast pump kit.

(ii) "Breast pump collection and storage supplies" does not include the following items if not sold as part of a breast pump kit prepackaged by the breast pump manufacturer or distributor:

(E) Creams, ointments, and other similar products that relieve breastfeeding-related symptoms or conditions of the breasts or nipples.

(c) "Breast pump kit" means a kit that contains a breast pump and one or more of the following items: Breast pump collection and storage supplies; and other taxable items of tangible personal property that may be useful to initiate, support, or sustain breastfeeding using a breast pump during lactation, so long as the other taxable items of tangible personal property sold with the breast pump kit at the time of the sale are less than ten percent of the total sales price of the breast pump kit.

(1) The provisions of this chapter do not apply with respect to the use of a breast pump, repair and replacement parts therefor, and breast pump collection and storage supplies.