Senate Health committee sends bill to move daycare immunization rules into statute

The Senate Health Committee voted to send House Bill 290 to the floor with a "do pass" recommendation after lawmakers debated moving existing Department rules on childhood immunizations for licensed daycare facilities into statute.

Representative Healy (Rep. Healy), who represents District 15 (West Boise and South Meridian), presented the bill and said moving the rules into statute would "put[] the control back into the elected officials." She said the change would prevent the department from making temporary rules outside the legislative session, including, in her words, temporary rules "on vaccines, increase enforcement, etcetera."

Committee members questioned whether shifting the rules into law would reduce opportunities for public input. Senator Wintrow noted that rulemaking typically includes public stakeholder comment and asked whether this provision historically drew public input; Representative Healy said she did not review the historical record but recalled "little to no comment" in past iterations.

Senator Ziderfeld raised a substantive concern about enforcement language in the bill. She cited language on page 2, section 4 that would allow a licensed daycare facility operator to "exclude" a child who does not meet the section's conditions "until the child is in compliance," and asked whether that would mean excluding children during an outbreak. Representative Healy replied that the exclusion language "has always been there" in the rules and that moving the language into statute could create an opportunity to revisit it.

Senator Ziderfeld also pointed to section 5, lines 24–33 (page 2), which states the department "may randomly select and visit licensed daycare facilities to evaluate compliance with this section" and that the department "shall record violations in writing and provide a copy to the licensed daycare operator." Representative Healy said the department would be checking for immunization documentation, including signed exemption forms, and that each daycare must keep whatever documentation the facility's policy requires on hand.

There were no members of the public in the room who requested to comment on the bill. Senator Berkey moved that the committee send House Bill 290 to the floor with a due-pass recommendation; Senator Harris seconded the motion. Senator Seiderfeld stated on the record that she would vote no, citing concerns about "unintended consequences" and that amendments might be needed. The committee voice vote recorded two no votes: Senator Ziderfeld and Senator Wintrow. The motion passed and the measure was reported to the floor with the committee's due-pass recommendation.

The committee then moved on to House Bill 327.