Committee adopts substitute for House Bill 764 to expand Children's Protection Board membership

The Committee on Professional Registration and Licensing voted to adopt a House Committee substitute and reported "do pass" on House Bill 764, a measure that modifies membership of a Children's Protection Board. The committee recorded a roll-call result of 13 yes, 5 no and 1 present on the committee substitute.

The substitute adds a guardian ad litem and a judge of a juvenile or family court to the board and makes other membership adjustments, the sponsor said when moving the substitute. "They added a guardian ad litem for the children and they added a judge of a juvenile or family court," the sponsor said, adding the department had told the committee it believed the change "could help" in placement of children but made no guarantees.

Representative Bush told the committee she had visited Shiloh Children's Ranch on March 19 with two staff members and described interactions with staff but said she was not given a tour of the grounds or an opportunity to meet families who had left the facility. "What I wasn't invited to see was the grounds… the most troubling thing that I saw as a picture from the air were work houses," she said. She said the visit led her to oppose what she described as a "special carve out" for the Children's Protection Board in this substitute and that other institutions were willing to follow existing rules.

After limited discussion the committee first voted to adopt the committee substitute and then voted to report the bill out of committee with a recommendation of "do pass." The chair asked the clerk to call the roll and later announced, "By your vote of 13 yes, 5 no, and 1 present, you voted do pass House Committee substitute for House Bill 764." The committee did not record an amendment on the floor beyond the committee substitute and no implementation dates were specified during the committee action.

The transcript shows committee members debated whether the substitute would assist placement of children and noted the department's view that expanded board membership "could help"; the department did not guarantee placement outcomes. Committee discussion also included objections to creating a statutory carve-out for specific facilities. The committee did not enter into a public hearing on HB 764 during the recorded segment.

The bill will proceed through the House process according to standard legislative procedure; no enactment or effective dates were recorded by the committee during this meeting.