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On Jan. 30, 2025, the Montana House Health and Human Services Committee heard testimony on House Bill 352, sponsored by Representative Schomer, a proposal to revise state child support guidelines, require certain staff expertise, establish a guidelines review oversight committee, require DPHHS to contract with a private software vendor to verify the agency\u0000calculator and amend MCA 40-5-209.

The bill\u0000proposes placing several calculation-related requirements into statute and creating a committee to report to the Children, Families, Health and Human Services Interim Committee. Proponents said the change would restore outside checks and increase public input; opponents said the measure duplicates federal regulations and existing administrative rulemaking and could constrain procurement.

Temple McLean, an expert witness testifying remotely, described the bill as a response to recent recommendations from the state\u0000guidelines review committee (referred to in testimony as GROC). McLean said the committee\u0000\u0000quadrennial report recommended at least two significant changes to the child support calculator and argued that statutory language and outside verification would preserve fairness during any change. She told the committee that for many years CSSD had used a private vendor known as MTCS (formerly Bordeaux) as an independent check and that MTCS historically charged about $5,000 annually. McLean said MTCS was used as a primary calculator at times when CSSD updated its internal calculator and that since 2023 CSSD had ended that relationship.

Kelsen Young, representing the Montana Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, told the committee her organization supports more public involvement, including from custodial and noncustodial parents, and said better communication and oversight of the child support system is important because child support outcomes have large effects on low-income families.

Christy Twardowski, division administrator for the Child Support Services Division at DPHHS, testified in opposition. Twardowski said the bill is \u0000overly prescriptive and duplicative,\u0000citing the federal Code of Federal Regulations 45 CFR 302.56(h) and state administrative rules beginning at ARM 37.62.101 as already setting committee requirements and public input procedures. She said the bill would shift policy approval authority from the department to a committee that would meet quarterly, and that the bill\u0000specifies procurement and verification procedures tied to a proprietary vendor, potentially limiting fair competition. Twardowski asked the committee to give the bill a do-not-pass recommendation.

Patrick Quinn, an attorney providing legal services to CSSD, told the committee that Title IV-D child support work is federally funded (about 66% of allowable expenditures) and that roughly 30,000 families received about $70 million in child support last year. Quinn said rulemaking and guidelines changes already include public comment opportunities and legislative oversight under Montana law (Mont. Code Ann., Title 2, ch. 4, part 3), and he cautioned that the bill would create redundant oversight layers that could slow agency responses.

Committee members repeatedly asked DPHHS to provide concrete calculation examples and cost details. Twardowski and other agency witnesses said they did not have example calculations or the weighting of factors on hand and agreed to follow up with the committee. Representative Schomer told the committee he had distributed handouts showing an alleged nearly $85 million TANF carryover and said broader oversight was warranted. Jesse Counts, an informational witness, clarified that the roughly $83 million TANF carryover cited by the sponsor is the statewide TANF balance and not specific to CSSD.

The hearing record shows disagreement on whether statutory language is needed: proponents cited lost institutional knowledge at CSSD and the value of a vendor check; DPHHS witnesses said federal regulation and current rulemaking already create review and public-input mechanisms and that the bill\u0000would duplicate or hamper agency processes. No formal action or committee vote was taken on House Bill 352 during the hearing.

The sponsor told the committee a fiscal note had been requested Jan. 30; the bill record shows follow-up requests from committee members for procurement, cost, and calculation examples from DPHHS.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","House Human Services 2025-02-04","oneSentenceSummary","On Jan. 30, 2025, the Montana House Health and Human Services Committee heard testimony on House Bill 352, sponsored by Representative Schomer, to revise child support guidelines, require staff expertise, establish an oversight committee and require DPHHS to contract with a private vendor to verify the state calculator.","taxTitle","2025 Legislature MT, Montana","taxId",77694,"location","Montana","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6353949,"House Health and Human Services committee advances HB253 and HB273, defeats HB274",482,5602000,6084000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2220790-80c8f6d9fc9d796605551024ec702bf8&start=5602&end=6084","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2220790-80c8f6d9fc9d796605551024ec702bf8/thumbnail_5602000.jpg","/articles/6353949/Montana/House-Health-and-Human-Services-committee-advances-HB253-and-HB273-defeats-HB274","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6353949-4d214b3b41c7a1bcc54b518ff33bfee3/orig.mp4?Expires=1773736287&Signature=bcNmPVpd9~PB40vL1hH15Qi3tFjTJpI4yU11O0ZUd8eT1WUY4zilDJkcbLr~a1j9KTjEpVX06sX8u7iZE5-vQAWSFBsYubz~z0jMZCWMgYZNCwC2weXUqI~JIEpGaeKtLzgHX~Ei1O9n7Ag2RvvkEy6bpLN9467C7kfCRvz8tJZuAqExFi~Py4ouNx2zYmYOZPMckBAD9MYmVs8mnoOdFzGNFi8M35hP1NDxJjJHeLFO7H6VqNt~BeKi-yjRMkZjb1ThqvSXqJEHUw5IhKlfCb~o8zY93628NKrNiHZcZ0yu4UDrPkjUD3GZqov9e-Ygs7xvGJL9Ph1gzw38vrTABg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Helena, Mont.

During executive action on Jan. 30, 2025, the Montana House Health and Human Services Committee advanced two bills to the House floor and defeated a third.

House Bill 253, sponsored by Representative Mercer, requires the Department of Public Health and Human Services to disclose certain information during a public health emergency. Vice Chair Etcher moved that HB 253 be amended with amendment 253.1.0.2; members treated the amendment as friendly to the sponsor and the committee voted to adopt it. After discussion, the committee voted on the bill as amended. Updated roll-call results recorded the final tally as 15 ayes and 6 nays. The committee moved HB 253, as amended, to the House floor with a do-pass recommendation.

House Bill 273, sponsored by Representative Staffman, limits collection actions for patient debt owed for health care services. The sponsor offered amendment 0.1.0.1 to conform certain language with federal law (notably on advance beneficiary notices) and to change a 180-day period to 120 days in the bill text. The committee adopted the amendment by voice and then took a roll-call vote on the bill as amended. The final tally recorded on the roll call was 13 ayes and 8 nays, and the committee issued a do-pass recommendation for HB 273 as amended.

House Bill 274, also sponsored by Representative Staffman, proposed authorizing medical respite care for people experiencing homelessness who need post-acute care but are not using a hospital bed. Committee members expressed disagreement about whether the state has sufficient existing facilities and whether the program would carry hidden costs. The roll-call vote on HB 274 resulted in 9 ayes and 12 nays, and the bill failed to pass the committee. Following that vote, Representative Etcher moved to table HB 274; the motion to table passed on a voice vote and the bill was placed on the committee table.

Each vote was recorded in the committee roll calls and updated tallies appear in the committee record. Committee staff indicated a fiscal note for bills that required one was requested (a fiscal note on HB 352 had been requested earlier in the day).","In executive action the House Health and Human Services Committee voted to move House Bill 253 (as amended) and House Bill 273 (as amended) to the floor and voted down House Bill 274; final roll-call tallies were recorded for each vote and HB274 was later tabled.","actionData","errors"]

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House committee hears bill to add oversight and private verification to child support guidelines

House Health and Human Services committee advances HB253 and HB273, defeats HB274