House Health and Welfare Committee shortens rules review, clarifies RS process and remote testimony procedures

Chairman Vanderwaute told the House Health and Welfare Committee that the panel will conduct its review of Health and Welfare rules in two sessions, while rules for the Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing (DOPL) are scheduled across four days.

The committee chair said the compressed schedule is intended to reduce the number of meetings needed for rule review while preserving oversight. “Rules are important because rules are what for all the new members of the committee, rules are what somebody else writes to interpret the statutes that we passed,” Chairman Vanderwaute said.

Vice Chair Representative Marco Erickson said the committee will rely on a single presenter for the Health and Welfare rules and that agency experts will appear for questions. “This year, we are blessed to have Jared Larson, who is our government liaison,” Erickson said, and “we can do the full rules for health and welfare in 2 sessions.” He added that the DOPL review will be spread over four days so each presenter can appear without creating a backlog.

The committee discussed routing slips, often called RSs, and how they will be handled. Vanderwaute said RSs are generally private until they are introduced to the committee, and that sponsors must agree to post them online before they become public. He also explained a procedural distinction: a “motion to introduce” is the correct step for an RS, whereas older practice sometimes used a “motion to print.” The chair warned that while limited discussion and even amendments on an RS are permitted, substantial changes are usually better handled by returning the item to the sponsor to refile as a new RS.

Representative Lucas Kaylor asked whether the materials will be provided online or in paper. “The rules that we’re reviewing, are they online or are they going to be given to us in paper format to read?” Kaylor asked. Chairman Vanderwaute replied, “They are all online. And this committee is all online, so all your agendas and all the RS’s and all that will be all online.” He noted members do have dockets in their folders for the first two days of rules review.

The chair and vice chair described how remote public testimony will be managed. Vanderwaute said the committee accepts both in-person and remote testimony and that remote participants must sign in ahead of time; the vice chair said he manages the remote sign-up list and notes whether testifiers are for or against an item. The committee may limit individual speaking time if many people sign up; Erickson cited an example when 72 people were in favor and four were opposed on a single issue and noted committees sometimes need to balance thorough public input with time constraints.

Other procedural details discussed: the committee plans not to meet on the immediate next two days (as announced by the chair), members were given an organizational chart and an acronym sheet for Health and Welfare materials, and the chair asked for volunteers to proofread minutes, identifying Representative Lori McCann and Representative Egbert as volunteers. Vanderwaute closed by reminding members how to seek amendments or changes and encouraging attention to the rule-review process because it implements and interprets statutes.

There were no formal motions or votes recorded on policy during this organizational meeting.