Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Committee Votes topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Votes at a glance: Children and Family Law Committee actions on March 4
Summary
The committee took formal action on several bills ranging from study committees on the family division to records retention and management of benefits for children in foster care. This roundup lists each bill, the committee motion and the recorded vote where available.
The House Children and Family Law Committee met March 4 and recorded formal committee actions on several bills. Below is a concise listing of each bill, the motion the committee voted on, and the roll‑call tally shown in the committee record.
- HB 543 — Establishing a study committee on how the family division treats accusations of domestic violence: Motion to recommend Inexpedient to Legislate (ITL) moved by the chair and seconded by Representative Rice. Committee roll call: 16–0 in favor of ITL. The chair explained a family‑division subcommittee had already been appointed by the committee that morning and the work described in HB 543 will be covered by that subcommittee.
- HB 430 — Reducing the retention period for records of unfounded abuse and neglect reports by DHHS: Motion to recommend ITL moved by Representative Rice and seconded by Representative Grama. Committee roll call recorded 16–0 in favor of ITL. Supporters of keeping records in place cited their importance for identifying patterns and for court and agency use.
- HB 661 — Relative to DHHS management of Social Security and similar payments for children in foster care: Motion to recommend Ought to Pass (OTP) moved by Representative Cozen and seconded by Representative Raymond. Committee roll call recorded 16–0 in favor of OTP. Committee discussion emphasized the bill’s intent to put more funds toward the child’s benefit and to avoid inequities where children whose benefits are administered differently lose access to funds.
- HB 652 — An act to abolish the family division of Circuit Court and reassign jurisdiction: Motion to retain the bill for study moved by Representative Korzen and seconded by Representative Love. Committee roll call: retained 10–6. Members were split over whether an existing subcommittee and the newly appointed family‑division subcommittee made the measure redundant or whether retention for further study was appropriate.
- HB 285 — Clarifying the role of mental health considerations in parenting decisions: Motion to recommend ITL moved by Representative Rice and seconded by Representative DeSimone. Committee roll call recorded 14–0 in favor of ITL. Members said singling out mental health could be discriminatory and that broader study of definitions and family‑court practice was preferable.
- HB 560 — Parental access to a minor child’s medical records: Committee adopted an amendment (0673) clarifying standards for medical‑record access and then voted OTP (as amended). Amendment 0673 passed on roll call 14–0; the final OTP motion on HB 560 as amended passed on roll call 14–0. The committee directed the amendment and the bill to be reported out favorably.
- HB 493 — Education on child abuse and neglect for certain health‑care providers (covered in depth in a separate article): After testimony and successive amendments (reducing training to one hour and placing the hour within CME), the committee recommended HB 493 OTPA as amended by roll call 13–0.
- HB 10 — Parental rights bill (amendment and final action): The committee adopted amendment 0695 (9–7) and after further consideration recommended HB 10 OTP as amended; recorded committee votes on amendment and final disposition show a 9–7 split on the contested amendments. (Amendment 0699 failed 9–7.) The committee reported HB 10 as amended.
Several items were discussed at length in hearings and executive session; in multiple instances the committee opted to appoint or rely on an internal family‑division subcommittee the chair had formed earlier the same day rather than advance separate study bills. The committee chair and members said the subcommittee will continue review of family‑division procedures and domestic‑violence issues before crossover.
The committee’s formal roll‑call results above are taken from the hearing transcript and executive session record taken March 4. Where the committee used a voice or unanimous consent, the meeting minutes reflect that as "consent" or as the roll call listed above. Several bills were recommended to be placed on the consent calendar for the full House, per the chair’s direction.
