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House committee approves streamlined newborn‑screening rule; members press for clarity on must/should changes
Summary
The House Health and Welfare rules committee approved temporary and pending changes to newborn‑screening rules (docket 160212‑2401). Staff said the edits remove duplication with statute and modernize language; lawmakers pressed on must→should language, when tests must be taken and where parents/providers should look for guidance.
The House Health and Welfare rules committee voted to adopt temporary and pending rule docket 160212‑2401 on newborn screening, approving language the Department of Health and Welfare described as a modernization and consolidation of long‑standing provisions.
Committee members pressed department staff about several substantive edits, including the replacement of mandatory wording (“must”) with advisory wording (“should”), the removal of language that formerly said specimens must be taken from in‑hospital infants, and the incorporation‑by‑reference update to a newer edition of a laboratory manual.
Catherine Humphrey, maternal and child health section manager, told the committee the changes “modernize and update the language, remove duplication of language and really kind of consolidate” but said the edits do not change how screening is sent to the lab or the screening process itself. Jared Larson, legislative and regulatory affairs chief for the Department of Health and Welfare, added the department’s intent is to move many long‑standing rule provisions into statute so future policy changes start at the Legislature rather than in administrative rule.
Representative Adam Egbert pressed the department on the must→should edits. Larson said the changes align the rule text with what the department intends to propose in legislation and argued the edits are intended to avoid “technical noncompliance” on lower‑priority record‑keeping items. Alex Adams, director of the Department of Health and Welfare, reiterated that moving noncontroversial provisions into statute will create a single place for policy and reduce the risk that rule language drifts from legislative intent.
Committee members also asked whether the rule applies to out‑of‑hospital births after the removal of the phrase “in hospital.” Dr. Marsha Witty, Division of Public Health, answered that the statutory requirement to screen newborns dates to 1921 and applies “regardless of where a child is born,” but longstanding religious exemptions remain. Witty said the program recommends the initial specimen be collected between 24 and 48 hours of age and that the rule includes a provision requiring screening at discharge if the newborn leaves earlier.
Other technical questions included the department's incorporation‑by‑reference of an updated manual edition (from the 5th to the 7th edition). Larson said the docket uses the most recent edition and the department will provide details about substantive differences if committee members request them.
The committee adopted the docket by voice vote. The record shows no formal amendments were adopted during the hearing.
The department said the policy and statutory proposals that would permanently relocate rule language into code are planned to be introduced later in the session; committee members asked to see that legislation when filed.
Speakers at the hearing included state public‑health staff, the department director and legislative affairs staff; legislators asked for additional clarifications about the practical effects of the language edits and where providers should find consolidated guidance once the statutory changes are introduced.
