Committee debates, then reports House Bill 1262 to the floor; amendments to resize and rename council fail

House Bill 1262, which would make multiple changes to the Health Disparities Council, was debated in the House Health Care & Wellness Committee and reported out of committee with a due‑pass recommendation on Jan. 31. The bill as introduced would change the council’s name, membership and responsibilities; committee members considered three separate amendments that would have changed membership size, the council’s scope and included additional specified seats.

Representative Marshall moved an amendment (Amendment 196) that would have renamed the council the Governor’s Council on Health Disparities, reduced membership from 28 to four and limited appointments to one member selected from lists submitted by each legislative caucus. Representative Marshall argued a smaller council would be more effective. Representatives Tai and others opposed the amendment, saying the council’s broader membership and community engagement are important. Amendment 196 failed.

Two further amendments (Blake 195 and Blake 198) proposing additional membership changes and removing language about structural determinants — including references to racism as a public health crisis and mandates to engage disproportionately impacted communities — were also considered and not adopted. After debate the committee voted to report the bill; staff announced the roll call as 12 ayes and 7 nays and reported the bill to the floor with a due‑pass recommendation.