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Call it the latest episode of “You Can’t Make This Up” from deep-blue Annapolis.
Maryland Republicans are blasting Democrats over a head-turning proposal that would require tampons to be stocked not just in women’s restrooms — but in men’s bathrooms across state-owned buildings. And one GOP lawmaker isn’t mincing words.
Del. Kathy Szeliga (R-Baltimore County) is torching the bill — HB 941 — as a shining example of what she says are wildly misplaced priorities in a state already wrestling with serious financial headaches.
The fireworks kicked off when Szeliga took to the House floor to figure out just how far this bathroom mandate would go. Would it hit major venues like the stadiums where Baltimore’s beloved Ravens and Orioles play? Turns out, that’s very much on the table.
But first, she zeroed in on one eyebrow-raising line buried in the bill — a requirement for “appropriately sized tampons” in public restrooms.
“What are appropriately sized tampons?” Szeliga asked, drawing chuckles from colleagues. “I’ve never heard of such a thing. What do you consider appropriate?”
Democratic Del. Ken Kerr (D-Frederick County) tried to wave it off, saying the phrase simply means tampons would be available — no Goldilocks sizing chart required.
That didn’t fly with Szeliga.
If there’s no sizing standard, she argued, then why is the bill written that way at all? From there, things got even more surreal.
Szeliga pressed Democrats on whether the rule would extend to major state-owned properties — including M&T Bank Stadium and Camden Yards. Both are operated by the Maryland Stadium Authority, which means, under the bill’s logic, they could fall squarely under the mandate.
Kerr didn’t exactly slam the door on that idea.
“If it is a state-owned building, then yes, it would go in – it’s a public building,” he said, adding, “If Raven stadium is a state building, then yes, it would apply … If it applies to the Raven Stadium it would also apply to Oriole Park.”
And it doesn’t stop at stadiums. Szeliga warned the reach could stretch to places like Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport and beyond, sweeping up a vast network of state facilities.
The price tag? That’s anyone’s guess.
“The fiscal note on the bill said ‘undetermined’ because there are so many state-owned public buildings,” Szeliga said. “And they wanted it to be paid for by taxpayers.”
In other words, lawmakers are pushing forward without even knowing how much it’ll cost — a detail that tends to matter when you’re already staring down a “massive” budget deficit.
Szeliga says the administrative burden alone could run into the hundreds of thousands. “Even if they determine to shift some of the cost to the consumer, this still creates hundreds-of-thousands of dollars worth of administrative costs to put tampons in men’s bathrooms — just for the administrative costs,” she said, adding that Democrats “couldn’t even determine how many state buildings this would apply to.”
State agencies are already raising red flags. According to WBAL-TV, several departments expressed concern about the expense, with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources estimating upfront costs around $400,000 — and that’s likely just the tip of the iceberg.
Szeliga says she’s seen this movie before. A previous push targeted colleges and universities, but Republicans managed to scale it back so it applied only to campus health centers — which she says were already providing such products anyway.
This time, she argues, Democrats are going much further. “There seems to be an obsession with feminine hygiene products in Maryland, in Annapolis, in the legislature,” Szeliga said. “It must be coming from some national movement… but this is now taking it to a whole new level.”
Her bottom line? While Maryland families grapple with rising costs and sky-high electric bills, lawmakers are focused on what she calls political theater.
“This is the kind of thing that we see happening in radical Democrat states with super majorities, where they’ve run out of ideas,” Szeliga said. “Instead of tackling actual problems like out of control spending and other real problems… they pivot to nonsense like putting tampons in men’s bathrooms.”
The bill, backed by more than 10 Democratic delegates, was introduced Feb. 5 — and for now, it’s still sitting in the legislature, waiting to see if this controversial idea goes from punchline to policy.
Maryland is debating putting tampons in the MEN’S bathrooms at the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles stadiums and other public venues, but it gets even weirder … pic.twitter.com/pSBVI2KDCO
— thedailybs w/ Snerdley (@thedailybs_Bo) March 25, 2026
