Senate committee advances bill moving daycare immunization rules from agency rule into statute

Representative Healy, a nurse-legislator from District 15, introduced House Bill 290 to the Senate Health and Welfare Committee, saying the measure would transfer existing department rules into statute and limit the agency's ability to impose temporary rules outside the legislative session. “By doing this, we're putting the control back into the elected officials,” Representative Healy said. He added that, if enacted, “they can no longer make temporary rules on vaccines, increase enforcement, etcetera.”

The bill would codify provisions that allow licensed daycare operators to exclude a child who does not meet the section's conditions until the child is in compliance. Senator Ziderfeld expressed concern about that exclusion language during an outbreak, saying she had “grave concerns about that because then we will be excluding children during an outbreak until they come into compliance.” Representative Healy and committee members noted that the exclusion language is longstanding in the current rules and that moving it into statute would allow legislators to revisit it in future sessions.

Committee members also asked about section 5, which allows the department to randomly select and visit licensed daycare facilities to evaluate compliance and to record violations in writing. Senator Ziderfeld asked what the department would be looking for during those visits; Representative Healy answered that the department would look for documentation of immunization status or signed exemption forms and that each daycare must keep whatever documentation its policy requires. “So if the family is chosen to exempt their child, that will need to be documented,” Healy said.

Supporters of the bill framed it as restoring legislative oversight of public-health rulemaking. Senator Shippey said the change “has the legislature looking at it and deciding whether or not this is actually what we want,” and suggested that the statute could later be amended if members identify needed changes. Senator Lenny and others emphasized that the bill, as presented, transfers existing rule language into code without substantive amendments.

After public comment was called and none was offered, Senator Buerke moved to send House Bill 290 to the floor with a due-pass recommendation; Senator Harris seconded the motion. Senator Ziderfeld said she would vote no, citing potential unintended consequences and a belief that some provisions could be improved before being placed into statute. The committee approved the motion; Representative Healy's presentation and the committee's debate closed with two recorded nays. The chair recorded that Senators Ziderfeld and Wintrow voted no; the motion otherwise carried.

The bill now goes to the full Senate for floor consideration.