House committee refines S.230 to bar certain health‑care noncompetes, debates legal reach

The House Committee on General and Housing on April 17 reviewed draft 6.1 of S.230, a labor‑oriented bill, focusing on a new Section 3B that would void certain contract clauses for health‑care providers. Committee counsel Sophie Zdatny, Office of Legislative Counsel, walked the panel through the changes.

"This is the new section 3B — agreements not to compete," Sophie Zdatny told the committee as she outlined the draft. The provision narrows earlier language so that only specific provisions within a contract would be void and unenforceable, rather than nullifying entire agreements.

Under the draft the committee examined, subdivision A targets restrictions that bar a health‑care provider from providing services in a defined geographic area or for a period after termination. Subdivision B limits clauses that would restrict a separating provider from giving notice of an employment change to patients they served; subdivision C would bar provisions that…