Committee introduces RS 32,575 after sponsors revise work-requirement language; members debate public access

The House Health and Welfare Committee introduced RS 32,575 on a motion passed during the committee’s meeting, after sponsors described clerical and substantive tweaks to work‑requirement language.

Representative Jordan Redmond, representing District 3 in Kootenai County and a sponsor of the RS, told the committee stakeholders asked to meet after the earlier RS was circulated. “Through those discussions, we found a couple tweaks to make to the bill, just to kind of fulfill the actual legislative intent of what we were trying to accomplish,” Redmond said. He identified two changes by example: the work requirement will explicitly allow students enrolled at least part time in college, university or vocational programs to qualify, and a parent or caretaker personally providing care for a dependent will be recognized under the work requirement.

The committee spent substantial time discussing whether to release the RS publicly before the formal bill is printed and assigned a bill number. Several members said public access was important so stakeholders could review and prepare testimony. Representative Healy said she was concerned about the public perception of keeping the RS off a public platform: “I feel like there will be a public persona that we're trying to hide this.”

The committee chair — speaking as chair of the House Health and Welfare Committee and not identified by name in the transcript — said an RS in the committee’s possession is technically controlled by the sponsors and that sponsors may release it. The chair also described the procedural reason the sponsors had not introduced the RS earlier: if the committee introduces the RS now and the Speaker runs the RS “across the desk” to obtain a bill number immediately, the committee can proceed more quickly than if they waited for the normal print-and-assign process. The chair added, “Because the RS is still in our possession but the bill would not be until it's transmitted right across the desk… it could be Tuesday or Wednesday before we would actually get the actual bill back.”

With no recorded second, Representative Egbert moved to introduce RS 32,575 so the measure could be publicly available; the committee voted in favor. After the vote the chair instructed sponsors to work with the clerk and the Speaker to get the RS read across the desk and assigned a bill number as quickly as possible.

Committee discussion included procedural alternatives: Representative Koehler suggested a motion to hold for a time certain; Representative Rubel asked whether the agenda link could be made to point to the RS; Representative Ruppel asked where the public would find the RS on the website. The chair and sponsors said they would try to make the RS widely available and would check with the House Clerk about posting options.

The meeting record shows the committee approved the motion to introduce RS 32,575. Sponsors and the chair said they will seek an immediate transmittal to obtain a bill number and then place the resulting bill on the committee’s calendar for a hearing at the earliest possible date.

The transcript does not include the final bill number or the printed bill text; those were described as forthcoming once the clerk and Speaker processed the RS.