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House committee votes to send repeal of ‘Yellow Dot’ program to the floor
Summary
The House Health and Welfare Committee voted to send House Bill 80 — a repeal of the state’s Yellow Dot program chapter — to the full House with a do-pass recommendation after members and the bill sponsor described the program as unused and unfunded.
BOISE — The House Health and Welfare Committee voted unanimously to send House Bill 80 to the full House with a do-pass recommendation, moving to repeal the statutory chapter that established Idaho’s Yellow Dot program.
Representative Heather Scott (R., Dist. 2), who sponsored the bill, told the committee the program was intended to distribute kits that collect medical information to help first responders but “never really got funded” and lacked tracking. “I would honestly say I bet most of them don't know what the yellow dot even means,” Scott said during her presentation.
The committee discussed whether first responders use the Yellow Dot materials. Representative Healy asked Scott to confirm that first responders were not using the program; Scott replied, “not that I am aware of,” and said the program was sometimes promoted at fairs and community events but did not gain traction.
Representative Healy moved that HB 80 be sent to the floor with a do-pass recommendation. After a voice vote, the chair recorded the motion as passed. The committee did not record a roll-call tally; the outcome was announced as a passed do-pass recommendation.
Supporters on the committee noted the program’s good intent. Representative McCann said she had distributed Yellow Dot kits in the past and appreciated the original goal of making medical information available when people were not wearing medical alert jewelry, but she supported sending the repeal to the floor given the program’s lack of use.
No amendments or additional committee direction were recorded. The bill’s draft referenced repeal of the chapter described in committee materials as containing roughly “10 sections of code” and “4 full pages” of language to be removed; specific statute numbers were not specified in committee remarks.
The committee moved immediately to the next agenda items following the introduction and vote on HB 80.
