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Senate Health and Welfare Committee outlines process for administrative rules review and gubernatorial appointments
Summary
At its first 2025 meeting, the Senate Health and Welfare Committee set expectations for next week's administrative rules presentations, explained the limits of the committee's authority over rules, and described the timing and packet review process for gubernatorial appointments. New staff and a senate page introduced themselves.
Madam Chair, chair of the Senate Health and Welfare Committee, called the committee to order at the first meeting of the 2025 session and outlined the committee's near-term schedule and procedures for administrative rules and gubernatorial appointments.
The committee will begin next week with presentations on administrative rules from the Department of Health and Welfare, the Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses (DOPL), and the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). “You'll be receiving those on emails,” said Madam Chair, noting members would get rule packets and time to ask questions of presenters. Rebecca Koslowski, the committee secretary, introduced herself to members: “I recently graduated from college ... I'm very excited to work with you. Thanks,” she said.
Why it matters: the committee reviews administrative rules that implement state programs overseen by agencies in the committee's jurisdiction and forwards recommendations to the full Senate. The committee's actions on rules are constrained by procedure: members can approve or reject items and may remove elements, but generally cannot add new provisions to agency rule dockets during review.
On procedures, Senator Bierke, who will lead the committee's rules review next week, said he prefers to vote after presenters conclude but also supported voting the same day the dockets are presented: “I could see the value ... that we would go through those dockets, on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week and actually be able to vote that day.” Senator Ziderfeld asked that members be given time to read rule packets before being asked to vote; Senator Wintrow confirmed the rules had already been posted online and urged members to check the administrative rules posting.
The committee discussed gubernatorial appointments that are slated to come before the panel. Senator Bierke described the usual workflow: appointment nominees are read across the desk, then appear before the committee with a packet of application materials and answers to questions, and the committee does not take a vote on the appointment until the following day to give members time to review and decide. “You will be presented a packet of their information ... and they will present to us that day. You'll be able to ask them questions that day, but we won't vote on their appointment until the following day,” Bierke said.
The meeting also included a brief introduction of the session page, Abigail Williams, a high school student serving as the committee page, who said she was “so excited to be a senate page here and learn how the government actually works.”
No motions or formal votes were recorded at this meeting. The chair closed by reminding members of the next meeting day and adjourning the session.
