Representative Mercer wins court ruling, then proposes narrower access rules and revised abuse definitions in child‑welfare bill

Summary

Representative Caleb Mercer presented a two‑part bill after winning a court order permitting legislative review of DPHHS child‑welfare records: it would formalize legislator access (with a court process for privilege disputes) and would exclude from "abuse or neglect" some parenting choices that follow a child's biological sex.

Representative Caleb Mercer opened a hearing about two related proposals after a recent court fight over legislative access to Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) child‑welfare files. Mercer told the committee he obtained a district-court mandatory injunction and subsequent favorable language in a Montana Supreme Court decision that, in his view, affirmed the legislature’s right to review the department’s records at the committee’s request.

The bill has two principal parts. First, it codifies — with procedural safeguards — a legislator’s right to review "case records" in child-abuse and neglect matters when requested by a parent or guardian. The bill forbids disclosure of records that the department demonstrably designates as attorney‑client privileged, and it provides a judicial process…

Representative Mercer wins court ruling, then proposes narrower access rules and revised abuse definitions in child‑welfare bill

Summary

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