Human Services Committee advances a package of bills, adopts changes to DDA waiver priorities and Clemency board rules; confirms four gubernatorial appointees

The Human Services Committee voted in executive session to recommend that a package of bills move forward, adopting several amendments on the committee floor and recommending confirmation of four gubernatorial appointees.

The most contested items were House Bill 1130, which revises priority groups for open Home and Community-Based waiver slots administered by the Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA), and Engrossed Second Substitute House Bill 1131, which expands and changes membership and standards for the Clemency and Pardons Board. Both bills, as amended in committee, were recommended for passage and referral to the Rules Committee.

Why it matters: the committee’s actions affect eligibility and prioritization for disability waiver slots, the makeup and duties of the state clemency board, child-welfare housing assistance, and several other programs that rely on state appropriations or administrative rulemaking. Several items carried fiscal notes or were explicitly “subject to appropriations,” highlighting budget implications for the 2025–27 biennium.

What the committee did (key bills and outcomes)

- House Bill 1028 (Child violence): Committee staff summarized the bill as expanding the scope of services at child advocacy centers to include children who have witnessed or been exposed to violence and to allow forensic interviews in certain closed cases. The committee moved that the bill receive a due-pass recommendation to Rules; the motion carried and the bill was reported out “subject to signatures.” (Fiscal impact: staff reported no fiscal impact.)

- House Bill 1130 (DDA waiver priority list): Committee staff described the bill as directing DDA to prioritize specific populations when filling open waiver slots and to routinely publish related data. A striking amendment and two follow-on amendments were considered in committee. An amendment that would have removed persons found incompetent to stand trial due to a developmental disability from the priority list failed on…