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Daycare notification bill on relatives of registered offenders drawn out and withdrawn after heated debate
Summary
Representative Jim Wooten’s bill would have required daycare providers to notify parents when an employee or an employee’s immediate family member is a registered sex offender and barred such relatives from premises during child‑care hours. Lawmakers split over stigma and unintended employment and housing consequences; the sponsor withdrew the bill for reworking.
Representative Jim Wooten introduced House Bill 10‑98 to require daycare operators to notify parents if an owner, employee or an employee’s immediate family member is a registered sex offender and to bar those relatives from premises while children are present.
Wooten said the measure was crafted to "protect the parents and protect the children," describing a local case that prompted constituent outrage and noting providers had been consulted. He said the proposal requires notification and a rule that relatives cannot be on site during operating hours.
Committee members pushed back on scope and collateral consequences. Senator Ballinger and others warned the bill would stigmatize innocent relatives — siblings, in‑laws, and others — and could render otherwise qualified workers unemployable. Senator Garner urged focusing directly on restricting offenders' access rather than imposing a notification regime that could harm innocent family members and providers' reputations.
Supporters said the information is public record and parents have a right to know; opponents said the bill as written placed the burden on innocent people and could force day‑care closures in communities with limited providers. Members discussed alternatives including narrowing the definition of "immediate family," prohibiting offenders from residing in employees' homes, or limiting the rule to offenders who actually reside in the facility operator's household.
After extended questioning and offers to help redraft language, Representative Wooten withdrew the bill to work on amendments and consult with committee members. He said he would try again after addressing the concerns raised in committee.
