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Committee hears personal testimony for STORK Act; amendment added to cover adoptive parents
Summary
On the second hearing of House Bill 87, proponents told the House Ways and Means Committee the bill would give immediate tax relief to expectant parents and exempt more infant essentials from sales tax. Representatives accepted an amendment to extend the dependent claim provision to adoptive parents.
COLUMBUS — Supporters of House Bill 87 told the House Ways and Means Committee on its second hearing that the bill would give parents immediate tax relief and exempt more baby essentials from sales and use tax.
Emma Martinez, director of legislative affairs for Ohio Right to Life, told the committee the measure, called the Strategic Tax Opportunities for Raising Kids (STORK) Act, would “effectively reduce financial strain for families with young kids.” She described two main provisions: allowing expectant parents to claim a conceived child as a dependent and expanding sales-tax exemptions to include more infant necessities.
“By allowing expectant parents to claim their child as dependent and remove the sales tax for basic infant necessities, Ohio can invest in building up families,” Martinez said. She listed items the bill would exempt in addition to cribs and car seats, including bedding for cribs, clothes, pacifiers and breastfeeding items.
Mother Ashley Young told the committee why earlier tax relief matters. “My daughter came 5 weeks early,” Young said. “NICUs are expensive.” She described buying supplies before birth and the mismatch between when expenses occur and when parents can claim a dependent on taxes.
Representative Jamie Klick moved to amend the bill after testimony from constituents who said adoptive parents were omitted. Klick explained the amendment would allow adoptive parents—who often assume pregnancy- and newborn-related expenses before the child’s placement—to claim the child the same as biological expectant parents. The committee accepted the amendment without objection.
The committee recorded this as the bill’s second hearing; proponents who submitted written testimony included advocates and organizations listed in the committee packet. No formal vote on the underlying bill occurred during the hearing.
Supporters said the measure targets upfront expenses families face in pregnancy and infancy; opponents were not recorded on the record during this hearing. Committee members asked few technical questions; representatives said they welcome further information and stakeholder engagement as the bill proceeds.
The committee accepted amendment AM1360352 (moved by Representative Klick) to extend the dependent-claim provision to adoptive parents. No additional amendments or votes on final passage were taken at this hearing.
