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Cascade County Board of Health schedules weekly Zooms to consider legislative resolutions and positions
Summary
Board members agreed to hold recurring Thursday 5 p.m. Zoom meetings during the legislative session to review proposed bills, draft resolutions and, where appropriate, adopt positions with posted agendas and minutes.
The Cascade County Board of Health agreed to set a recurring weekly Zoom meeting during the state legislative session to review bills and consider draft resolutions that would formalize the board's positions.
Abigail (Health Department staff member) outlined a process for the board to take formal positions on state legislation. She said the board cannot officially endorse legislation without a resolution passed at a properly posted meeting and recommended scheduling regular, short Zoom meetings to address time-sensitive bills.
The board agreed in principle to a recurring Thursday 5 p.m. Zoom meeting (beginning the following week), with the caveat that agendas must be posted 48 hours before each meeting and that meetings be open to the public. "We will send out just a recurring link, Thursdays at 5, and then we'll just assess weekly where we're at and what we need," Abigail said. The chair and multiple members emphasized the 48-hour posting requirement and the practical limits posed by late bill filings.
Board members discussed the strategy of adopting broad policy statements (for example, treating vaping as equivalent to smoking for indoor-air rules) rather than tying positions to a specific bill number because bills can change, be moved or have language inserted late in the session. Members noted the legislative process can introduce "zombie" bills that resurface with amended language.
Staff said meetings will be posted and recorded and that minutes of these special sessions will be approved at the board's regular monthly meetings. Members asked staff to circulate draft resolution language in advance and to poll members on which topics they want to take to formal consideration.
No formal resolution was adopted during the meeting; staff will circulate materials and a recurring Zoom invitation and will post agendas as required for any meeting in which the board may take official action.
