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Senate narrowly approves 'home alone' language for children under 8 after contentious floor debate
Summary
Senate passed SB63 to add a provision that children under age 8 should not be left unattended in situations likely to endanger health or welfare; senators debated precise definitions, enforcement and a fiscal note before approving the measure.
Senate Bill 63—tabled in the record as the "Home Alone Prohibition"—was the subject of a prolonged floor exchange about definitions, enforceability and fiscal impact before the Senate approved the measure and placed it on third reading.
Sponsor Sen. Barrett explained the bill adds language to the child-abuse and neglect statutes specifying that children under the age of 8 should not be left unattended in places (including dwellings and motor vehicles) for a period that may be likely to endanger their health or welfare; the sponsor emphasized the language would be an additional factor for investigators but would not itself prescribe a separate criminal penalty or automatically remove custody.
During debate, several senators expressed concern the statutory language left key terms undefined—most prominently ‘‘period of time’’ and how a court or caseworker would interpret an incident-based standard. Senator Craig Phillips and others warned that an overly broad interpretation could unfairly expose otherwise well-intentioned parents to legal risk for brief accidents. The sponsor conceded the practical difficulty of naming a single time threshold for every age and said the bill is meant to close loopholes and provide clearer statutory language for severe neglect cases (for example, children left unattended in hot cars).
Fiscal concerns were raised: the floor referenced a fiscal note of roughly $476,200 tied to enforcement and child-protective workload. Supporters argued that protective-services activity should already address dangerous neglect and that clearer statutory language would help determine when intervention is required. The sponsor agreed to gather additional drafting options for third reading.
A roll-call vote recorded a close margin; the Senate clerk reported the bill passed with a narrow prevailing vote. Senators directed sponsors to return with clarifying language on third reading and, where appropriate, to coordinate with the Department of Protective Services on fiscal and enforcement implications.
