Committee adopts DE1 on House File 2191, technical childcare corrections and new prohibition on kickbacks

Representative Gilman presented House File 2191 (Office of Inspector General children’s policy bill) and moved the DE1 amendment, which the committee adopted.

Ari Didion, legislative director for the DHS Office of Inspector General, summarized the DE1 amendment. He said article 1 contains technical corrections that clarify which childcare licenses move to a continuous licensing process and which remain on a two‑year cycle. Sections cited in article 1 also set the number of hours required for certain federal trainings (the change reflects federal posting requirements, not new training topics), update language to reflect an increased child passenger restraint training age (from 8 to 9) and clarify first‑aid/CPR expectations for certified but license‑exempt centers. Article 2 adds statutory prohibitions against "kickbacks" in the childcare assistance program and in medical assistance and proposes a criminal penalty for those kickbacks; the bill also includes express exceptions for common discounts or promotional offers that directly benefit applicants or recipients, the presenters said.

Members asked how the kickback language would affect ordinary referral discounts; the department and the testifier said the childcare language contains exceptions for marketing/promotional offers that directly benefit an applicant or recipient and that typical small promotional discounts would likely be preserved under those exceptions. The committee adopted DE1 by voice vote; the amendment was "adopted" and the bill was laid over for possible inclusion in an omnibus bill.

Ending: Representative Gilman thanked the committee; the bill was laid over as amended for possible inclusion in a later omnibus bill.