Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Hb 243fn topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Conference stalls on several Senate amendments to HB 243 FN after privacy and process disputes
Summary
Senate and House conferees debated multiple Senate amendments to HB 243 FN — including changes to the maternal mortality review process, an EV charging-station inspection program, and acceptance of portraits into the State House — and left the disputed provisions unresolved; the House caucus opted to retain underlying provisions for further work.
Conferees met on the senate-amended version of House Bill 243 FN and debated three distinct sections added or changed by the Senate: revisions to the maternal mortality review process, a new inspection and fee structure for electric vehicle charging stations, and a provision directing acceptance and placement of portraits in the State House.
Representative Erica Leon (House) told the conference she objected to several policy changes to the maternal mortality review process adopted in the senate version. Leon said the bill’s new public-health definition would “destroy the data we are collecting” by changing how maternal deaths are defined and by folding accidental and incidental causes into a broadly rewritten definition. She also objected to language that would add a Department for Children, Youth and Families representative to the panel and to an expansion of the people case investigators could contact, saying the changes risked privacy harms. Leon asked that those policy sections be removed from the final conference report.
State Senator Denise Rochardi defended the Senate’s approach, saying the maternal mortality review panel — established in 2010 — needs updates to be “more functional.” Rochardi emphasized the committee reviews deaths within a year of pregnancy and described the committee’s work as aimed at clinical-quality improvements using de-identified case narratives.
Senators and representatives also debated a Senate proposal to authorize inspections of electric-vehicle charging stations for consumer protection. Senator David Waters (District 4) said the proposal — requested by the commissioner responsible for weights-and-measures inspections — would ensure consumers receive the product they pay for from chargers, and that the commissioner has an initial fund to stand up the program. Waters said new stations would be inspected within 30 days of opening and that the program was intended to become self-sustaining; he and others discussed inspection fees and a potential multi-year start window.
Finally, the conference considered senate language directing acceptance of portraits into the State House. Representatives from the Legislative Administration Committee said they preferred to retain the portraits question so the committee and the Joint Legislative Historic Committee could develop guidelines on portrait size, placement and process. Senators argued there is existing practice and locations for portraits and urged acceptance. The House side said it would retain the portrait provisions for further study rather than accept placement language in the bill.
After extended debate and several members leaving to attend other commitments, the house conferees stated they would “respect the house opinion to retain the respective underlying bills relative to each amendment,” and the committee broke without agreement on the disputed policy changes.
No roll-call votes were recorded in the transcript for the conference; senators and representatives indicated they would continue working in caucus and through retained bills or staff reports.
