Senate committee debates bill to revise child-care administrative rules; concerns raised about background checks and federal funding

Senate committee members considered Senate Bill 285 on second reading, a measure introduced as a legislative response to a 90‑page package of administrative rules from the Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) that govern school‑age care and child care.

The bill’s sponsor said the measure would give the Legislature a greater role in rules that the executive branch is writing and would revise Administrative Rules of Montana (ARM) references related to school‑age care. "What this does is it looks into the legislature having a say in these rules," the sponsor said, arguing that the interim committee had formally objected and that the 90‑page package was excessive.

Why it matters: senators who spoke in opposition said the rule package reflected input from hundreds of stakeholders and that rolling parts of it back could reduce safeguards for children and imperil federal funds that support child‑care subsidies in Montana.

Discussion and key points

- Stakeholder process: Senator Kirk Carpenter noted the agency’s administrative rule‑making…