Senate committee advances bill to move daycare immunization rules into statute

Representative Dorothy Healy, sponsor of House Bill 290, told the Idaho Senate Health & Welfare Committee the bill moves existing Department of Health and Welfare rules into statute so they cannot be enacted as temporary rules outside a legislative session.

"By doing this, we're putting the control back into the elected officials' hands," Representative Healy said. "By doing this and moving the rules into statute, the department can no longer make temporary rules outside of the legislative session. So, therefore, putting everything back into our hands. So what this means is outside of session, they can no longer make temporary rules on vaccines, increase enforcement, etcetera."

The committee spent most of its discussion on two practical effects of the language in the bill: a provision that permits a licensed daycare facility operator to exclude a…