Committee hears SB 18 to clarify what does not alone constitute child abuse

Senator Dennis Lentz presented Senate Bill 18 to the House Health and Human Services committee, describing the measure as a "straightforward" clarification of factors that should not alone be treated as child abuse or neglect.

"For the purposes of this subsection, substance used by a parent or guardian, a child's obesity, disorderly living conditions, or other factors closely related to economic status do not alone constitute psychological or physical harm to a child," Lentz read from the bill's text and said the change "would articulate, make that line a little bit brighter."

Stacey Anderson spoke for several professional organizations — including the Montana Primary Care Association and state chapters of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Academy of Pediatrics — and urged support, saying clinicians see families and want clearer statutory language. "You can understand that all of us interact with these families," Anderson said.

Jessie Counts of DPHHS served as an informational witness and offered to answer committee questions about coordination and implementation. Committee members asked whether sections stricken in the Senate were temporary or related to other bills; staff said bill scanners note coordination issues and flagged that any conflicts would be addressed during executive action.

Representative questions focused on consistency with prior measures on parental substance use and whether definitions overlap with other statutes; the sponsor said this bill came out of interim committee work and is intended to refine definitions rather than overturn prior targeted protections.

The committee closed the hearing on SB 18; no vote occurred during the hearing record.