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Senate health committee advances Alan Schneider reappointment, hears Mark Watkins for blind commission slot
Summary
The Idaho Senate Health and Welfare Committee voted to recommend confirmation of Alan Schneider to the Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired and held a public question-and-answer with Mark Watkins, who was interviewed for reappointment and will face a vote at the committee's next meeting.
The Senate Health and Welfare Committee on Thursday voted to send the gubernatorial reappointment of Alan Schneider to the Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired to the Senate floor with a recommendation that he be confirmed.
Committee Chair called for the motion to consider Schneider's reappointment; Senator Wintrow moved to advance the nomination and Senator Blaylock seconded. The committee approved the recommendation by voice vote.
The committee then took testimony from Mark Watkins, a current commissioner applying for reappointment who participated virtually. Watkins identified himself as a professor at Brigham Young University–Idaho and described his lived experience with visual impairment and the state services that assisted him. "I've been legally blind my whole life, and went completely blind some 7 years ago or so," Watkins said, and he described attending the state assessment and training center in Boise for 12 weeks during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. He told the committee, "those people are amazing" and said the training helped him continue working full time as a university professor.
Senator Wintrow and Senator Bjerke asked Watkins about the roles of the commission and the types of programs he has relied on; Watkins described low-vision aids, assistive technology, education supports and vocational rehabilitation services as examples of services that were not widely available when he was younger. Watkins said he has served on the board for three years and attends quarterly meetings.
The committee did not vote on Watkins's reappointment at this meeting; Chair said the committee will vote at its next meeting. The panel did complete other routine actions earlier in the session, including approval of minutes and the Schneider recommendation.
Why it matters: The Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired advises the state on services that affect Idahoans with visual disabilities and helps oversee programs such as training, assistive-technology access and vocational rehabilitation. Reappointments shape that advisory body and sometimes reflect lived-experience representation among appointees.
What’s next: The committee said it will take a formal vote on Watkins's reappointment at its next scheduled meeting.
