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Senate Health and Welfare Committee opens 2025 session, previews administrative rules and gubernatorial appointments
Summary
The Senate Health and Welfare Committee met for its first 2025 session where members heard introductions, reviewed the schedule for upcoming administrative-rule reviews for Department of Health and Welfare, DOPL and DEQ, and discussed the timing for votes on rules and gubernatorial appointments.
Madam Chair called the Senate Health and Welfare Committee to order at its first meeting of the 2025 session and said the panel will begin by reviewing administrative rules next week and will consider several gubernatorial appointments in coming days.
The committee secretary, Rebecca Koslovski, introduced herself to members and said she recently graduated from college and is “very excited to work with you this session.” Abigail Williams, the session page, told members she is from Oakley, Idaho, attends Oakley High School and is “so excited to be a senate page here and learn how the government actually works.”
The committee discussed logistics for next week’s docket of administrative rules. Senator Bierke said he prefers members have time to consider presentations before voting but added there is value in voting the same day the rules are presented: “I kind of tend to like to vote after we've had the presentation and then had some time to think about it. But ... I could see the value ... that we would go through those dockets ... and actually be able to vote that day.” Senator Ziderfeld urged caution about same-day votes if members do not have time to read rule packets in advance. Senator Wintrow asked whether the rules were already posted online; a member responded the rules have been posted and packets will be emailed.
Committee members were reminded that the panel will review administrative rules from the Department of Health and Welfare, the Department of Occupational and Professional Licenses (DOPL) and the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). The chair and members said the committee’s options are limited: members may approve or reject rules and can remove provisions but generally cannot add new provisions to an agency’s rule text. Senator Bierke said gubernatorial appointees will be presented to the committee and that the committee will not vote on appointments until the following day to allow members time to ask questions and consider the record.
Members were also advised that when appointments or bills need a floor sponsor, the committee should designate a member to carry them to the floor before the committee adjourns, or they will be returned for additional processing.
The meeting consisted primarily of introductions, procedural remarks about the upcoming rule review process and guidance on appointment hearings; no formal motions or votes were recorded. The chair adjourned the meeting and scheduled members to reconvene the following week.
