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Committee adopts amendment to impaired‑driver care management bill; sponsors say change neutralizes proprietary language
Summary
Sen. Sue Prentiss introduced an amendment to SB 143 to add a new section that replaces a vendor‑specific standard with a reference to national standards for impaired‑driver care management. The Department of Health and Human Services requested the change; DHHS policy staff attended to answer technical questions. The committee adopted the amendmen
Sen. Sue Prentiss (D–District 5) told the Senate Judiciary Committee she was offering an amendment to SB 143, a bill that updates standards governing the impaired‑driver care management program. The amendment would add a new section to remove a vendor name and instead reference applicable national standards.
Prentiss said the change was requested by the Department of Health and Human Services to neutralize proprietary language and allow the statute to reference national standards rather than a single vendor. Jenny O'Higgins, senior policy analyst at DHHS for behavioral health, joined the hearing to field questions from the committee.
Committee members briefly discussed whether the amendment was germane to the bill; Prentiss said DHHS asked that the language be added and that legal counsel would make the final germane determination if necessary.
Action: The committee adopted the requested amendment (identified in the hearing record as amendment 20250 609) and then moved the bill as amended. A committee voice vote on adoption of the amendment and subsequent motion to pass as amended is reflected in the hearing record; no roll‑call tally was transcribed.
Background: The impaired‑driver care management program addresses standards for managing drivers identified as impaired; the sponsor and DHHS said the amendment aligns the statute with national standards and removes vendor‑specific references.
