Health and Welfare committee introduces measures on foster care, child care, vaping, preceptors and health boards

The Idaho House Health & Welfare Committee introduced five legislative proposals Thursday addressing foster care, child care regulations, illegal vaping devices, continuing-education credit for clinical preceptors and the composition and terms of district health boards.

The measures were introduced by voice vote. Committee members discussed the purposes and key elements of each draft, but no bill received a full committee hearing during this session; introductions simply allow the proposals to proceed to later work sessions and formal hearings.

Representative Alana Rubell said a bill about foster care seeks to extend services beyond the committee’s current cutoff of age 21 and would allow the Department of Health and Welfare to set different licensing standards for relatives caring for children, rather than applying the same requirements to relatives and nonrelatives. “Often the kid is already living with grandma or an aunt,” Rubell said. The motion to introduce RS 32,364 passed by voice vote.

Repr…