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Judiciary panel advances Melissa Sotelo to full Senate after testimony on women’s health and inclusion
Summary
The Senate Committee on Judiciary voted to advise and consent to Melissa Sotelo’s nomination to the Commission on the Status of Women after Sotelo described her nursing career, education and advocacy for women and LGBTQIA communities and answered questions about financial disclosures and sports policy.
Melissa Sotelo, the governor’s nominee to the Commission on the Status of Women, won the Senate Committee on Judiciary’s recommendation to advise and consent after delivering personal testimony about her background and answering members’ questions.
Sotelo, introduced in GM 689, told the committee she was raised in an immigrant family, left an abusive relationship while raising three children, went to nursing school with public assistance and later became a clinical nursing professor at the University of Hawaii. Sotelo said she is nearing a doctorate focused on family nurse practitioner care and plans to concentrate on women’s health and services for LGBTQIA populations.
The nominee listed several supporters who signed up for the hearing, including Reina Zavala of Voyager Public Charter School, Aaron Ramirez, Christina Davis, Melinda Lynch and Molly Altman. Sotelo told the committee she had no objection to filing annual financial-disclosure statements with the state ethics commission if required.
During questioning, Senator Awad pressed Sotelo on the topic of natural-born males participating in female sports and the potential impact on opportunities for female athletes. Sotelo described the question as "blown up" in public debate, said the situation is rare and advocated case-by-case resolutions: "a woman is a woman is a woman," Sotelo said, and added that rights for transgender people should be advocated alongside protections for women. She suggested competitive bodies and sports leaders, not necessarily government, could determine eligibility rules in many cases.
After testimony and questions, the committee voted to advise and consent to Sotelo’s nomination. Chair recommended the committee’s approval and Senator Gabbard moved the recommendation; no no-votes or reservations were recorded. The nomination will move to the full Senate for a final confirmation vote.
The committee set a two-minute limit on public testimony for this nomination and recorded the supportive witnesses who had signed up.
