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Committee considers a cluster of placeholder bills on children’s safety, programs, health and welfare; members disagree on consent process
Summary
Four placeholder bills (SB 1273, SB 1272, HB 6902 and HB 6901) that would require DCF to study whether policy and procedure changes may increase child safety were considered. The committee debated whether to place the bills on a consent calendar, withdrew multiple motions, then voted individually; several members voted no on placeholders.
The Committee on Children reviewed a cluster of four placeholder bills on Feb. 25: SB 1273 (children's safety), SB 1272 (children's programs), HB 6902 (children's health) and HB 6901 (children's welfare). Committee staff described all four as placeholder bills that would require the commissioner of the Department of Children and Families to conduct studies to determine whether policy and procedural changes could increase child safety.
Committee debate centered on procedure rather than the bills' substance. Representative Comey and others moved to add bills to a consent calendar, but the motion was withdrawn and members expressed frustration at the consent-calendar process. Chair Marr then decided to take individual roll-call votes on each placeholder bill.
Because the measures were placeholders with no substantive language filed for the hearing, several members recorded no votes on principle or because they wanted language before voting yes. For example, Representative Dauphine and Representative Mastro Francesco recorded no votes on several of the placeholders; Representative Pezzuto also recorded no votes on some of the bills. Despite the procedural dispute, each bill was put to a roll-call vote and the committee recorded the outcomes for the record.
Actions recorded: for each of the four agenda items the committee recorded a motion for joint favorable to the floor and then a roll-call vote. The transcript labels these items explicitly as placeholder measures and committee members repeatedly stated the bills have no language. The committee held votes open and announced follow-up procedural timing (votes held open for one hour after recess; a public hearing scheduled for Feb. 27 at 11:30 a.m.).
