Committee hears competing testimony on parental-notification bill, HB 822

The Senate Judiciary & Rules Committee considered House Bill 822, titled the Pediatric Secretive Transitions Parental Rights Act, which would require “covered entities” — schools, childcare providers and medical or behavioral-health providers — to notify a minor’s parents within 72 hours after a minor requests assistance with a social transition and to obtain parental consent before facilitating such transitions.

Representative Skog, the bill sponsor, told the committee the measure aims to ensure parents are informed about ‘‘serious matters’’ involving their children and said the bill’s remedies would be civil — declaratory or injunctive relief and compensatory damages where warranted. He said the $100,000 figure cited in the statute is a cap and that “such civil penalties shall be proportionate to the violation as determined by the court” rather than an automatic assessment of the maximum amount.

The bill’s definition of social transitioning and the 72‑hour mandatory notification window drew sustained questioning from committee members, who sought clarity on when the notification obligation is triggered and how broadly terms like "aid and abet" and "social transition" would be applied. After testimony from medical professionals, parents, advocacy groups and legal counsel, the committee approved a motion to send HB 822 to the Senate floor with a due‑pass recommendation.