Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Child Care Grants topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Health subcommittee backs bill to let for‑profit child care participate in Child Care Improvement Fund pilot
Summary
The House Health Subcommittee voted to send House Bill 105 to the full Health Committee after members debated whether the pilot, originally intended for nonprofits, should be expanded to include for‑profit providers.
The House Health Subcommittee voted 8–1 on Feb. 12 to advance House Bill 105, which would allow child care agencies regulated by the Department of Human Services to apply for capital grants through the Child Care Improvement Fund pilot regardless of nonprofit or for‑profit status.
Supporters said the change would produce data about interest in capital funding across all provider types without requiring new state money. "We want to make sure that y'all have the data so that if you choose to continue to invest capital dollars into childcare, you'll have the full dataset," Callan Baggett, assistant commissioner for external affairs at the Department of Human Services, told the committee.
The bill removes language that, in practice, limited eligibility to nonprofit agencies. Baggett said the pilot has supported three projects to date and that the department will continue to prioritize nonprofit agencies in scoring, but the legislation would let the department record demand from any regulated child care provider before the pilot ends.
Some committee members criticized expanding eligibility because the fund was created to address nonprofit needs. "If it took $10,000,000 to address the original purpose last year, then so be it. We shouldn't be forming programs and then morphing them, expanding them to for‑profit businesses just because we've got excess money in the fund," Representative Leatherwood said, adding that the program's original purpose should remain the priority.
Leatherwood also noted that current statute does not establish a legal preference for nonprofits and said that preference should not be assumed unless written into law. Representative McKenzie said she supported the bill and emphasized that smaller ‘‘mom and pop’’ providers may need one‑time capital infusions to remain open.
Madam Clerk announced the tally as eight ayes and one no; the bill moves to the Health Committee for consideration next week.
The bill does not appropriate new funds; Baggett said the change would permit the department to capture application data to inform future budget decisions.
Votes at a glance: House Bill 105 — Passed subcommittee 8–1; outcome: advanced to full Health Committee.
House Bill 105 will have further floor and committee consideration before any change in eligibility becomes permanent or before additional funding decisions are made.
