Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Child Welfare topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee advances bill limiting detailed DCS firearm inventory requests for foster homes
Summary
House Bill 2206, sponsored by Representative Cheryl, would prohibit DCS from demanding a detailed inventory or inspecting every firearm or piece of ammunition in foster homes while still allowing questions about presence and secure storage. The committee adopted an amendment and voted to send the bill to Count and Rules after debate about child-safety trade-offs.
Representative Cheryl told the committee that, as amended, House Bill 2206 would bar the Department of Children's Services from requesting a full inventory of the number, type or quality of firearms or ammunition owned by a foster or prospective foster parent and from inspecting each firearm or item of ammunition. Cheryl said the bill would not prevent DCS from asking whether firearms or ammunition are present in the home or whether they are safely secured.
"As amended, House Bill 2206 would prohibit DCS from requesting detailed information about the number of type of firearms or ammo that a foster parent or perspective, foster parent owns or demands access to, inspect those firearms or ammo," Representative Cheryl said. She told members DCS had been consulted on the amendment and had deferred on the language.
Representative Johnson raised safety concerns, saying the state has an elevated duty when placing children and that knowing specifics about firearms in a potential foster home can be important for protecting children with firearm-related trauma. "So my concern here is by stating this, we are potentially putting some families and some kids at risk," Johnson said.
The sponsor responded that the bill preserves DCS's ability to ask whether firearms are present and how they are stored and that the amendment aims to prevent creation of a registry or detailed file of firearms while keeping children safe. The committee adopted the amendment (14,477) and, after a roll-call for the previous question (14 ayes, 5 nos), voted to send HB2206 as amended to Count and Rules; the clerk recorded a final tally of 15 ayes and 4 nos.
