Senate health panel advances reappointment for blind-services commissioner, hears testimony from Mark Watkins

The Senate Health and Welfare Committee on Jan. 22 advanced the gubernatorial reappointment of Alan Schneider to the Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired and heard virtual testimony from Mark Watkins, a reappointment candidate who described his experience living and working while blind.

Committee Chair (unnamed) opened consideration of gubernatorial reappointments and asked for motions. Senator Cindy Wintrow moved and Senator Lori Blaylock seconded that the committee send Alan Schneider’s reappointment to the Senate floor with a recommendation that he be confirmed; the committee voted in favor.

The committee took up the gubernatorial reappointment of Dr. Timothy Rerich (transcript spelling varies). Senator Lori Blaylock moved to send the nomination to the floor with a recommendation of confirmation, but the motion initially “died for lack of a second,” the chair said on the record. Minutes later, a senator asked whether Senator Wintrow would second the motion, and the committee proceeded with a move and second and then voted to send the nomination to the floor with a recommendation that Dr. Rerich be confirmed. Committee members openly discussed the procedural pause during the meeting.

The committee then heard from Mark Watkins, who participated virtually. Watkins identified himself as a professor in the music department at BYU–Idaho and said he has served on the Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired for three years. “I’ve been legally blind my whole life, and went completely blind some seven years ago,” Watkins told the committee, describing how an assessment-and-training program in Boise helped him regain vocational independence and return to full-time work.

Watkins described the value of state services for people with low vision and blindness and said his combination of lived experience and committee work at the university informed his contributions to the commission. He told committee members he attended the reemployment program for 12 weeks during the first year of COVID and that staff there were “amazing.”

Senator Bjerke asked Watkins to elaborate on opportunities he wished he had growing up; Watkins cited access to low-vision aids, earlier instruction in braille and mobility training, and easier routes to contact services while younger. He said modern technology and state programs now provide supports he did not have as a child.

The committee chair closed Watkins’s appearance by saying the panel would vote on his reappointment at its next meeting scheduled for the following day.

The committee concluded the items and adjourned. No formal vote on Watkins’s reappointment occurred during this session.

Ending: The committee will take the reappointment of Mark Watkins up at its next meeting, when formal votes on pending reappointments are scheduled.