Senate Health and Welfare schedules next week to review administrative rules, outlines appointment process

The Senate Health and Welfare Committee opened its first meeting of the 2025 session with staff and page introductions and set a schedule to review administrative rules from the Department of Health and Welfare, DOPL and the Department of Environmental Quality next week.

The committee chair (name not specified in the transcript) told members they would receive rule packets by email and hear presentations from each agency, then have time to ask questions. Senator Bierke said he prefers to vote after presentations on the same day but would consider voting during the meeting; Senator Ziderfeld and others said they may need extra time to read the rules before voting. Senator Wintrow asked whether the posted rules on the administrative rules website were the correct ones to read; a committee member confirmed they are posted.

Why it matters: administrative rules are subject to limited modification by the committee, which may approve or reject rule dockets but generally cannot add provisions. How the committee handles reviews and votes on those rules affects implementation of state health, professional-licensing and environmental regulations for the coming year.

Committee business and schedule Senator Bierke told members the committee has three primary responsibilities this session: reviewing gubernatorial appointments, considering administrative rules, and handling legislation that falls within the committee's jurisdiction. He asked members to do due diligence on the rule packets they will receive and to use presentations to develop questions for agency staff. "I kind of tend to like to vote after we've had the presentation and then had some time to think about it," Bierke said during the meeting.

Committee members were told that next week's docket will include rule presentations from the Department of Health and Welfare, DOPL, and the Department of Environmental Quality. A committee member explained that when a rules docket is presented members can vote to approve or deny; the committee's authority to change rule language is limited and, as stated in the meeting, "we cannot add to them. We can take things out of them." Senator Ziderfeld said she would prefer voting be delayed if members do not have sufficient time to read the materials before the meeting.

Gubernatorial appointments and floor sponsorship The chair and Senator Bierke explained how gubernatorial appointments will be handled: applicants will appear before the committee and provide information in a packet, but votes on appointments will generally occur the day after their presentation, giving members time to ask questions and decide how to vote. Bierke said members will be asked to identify senators to carry appointments and bills on the Senate floor; if no sponsor is identified, the item may be returned for further processing.

Introductions Rebecca Koslowski, introduced by the chair as the committee secretary, told the committee she recently graduated college and said, "I'm very excited to work with you this session." Abigail Williams, introduced as the session page from Oakley, Idaho and a student at Oakley High School, said she was "so excited to be a senate page here and learn how the government actually works." These introductions concluded the committee's organizational items.

What the meeting did not decide There were no formal votes recorded on legislation, appointments, or rules during this meeting. Members discussed process and timing and left final votes and formal action for subsequent meetings.

Next steps The committee adjourned after scheduling rule dockets for next week and indicating that gubernatorial appointments will be presented and voted on in separate steps. Members were asked to review emailed packets and bring questions to next week's presentations.