Will Our Kids be Safer This Year?

Idaho ranks at the very bottom of our 50 States with regard to legislation it has tried to get on the books for some 25 years. This year during these waning days of the Legislature, childcare regulation is still to be played out. The bill had languished in the drawer of the House Health&Welfare Chair for over 2 weeks. Reason was unclear to those not privy to the rationale, but it was released to be heard last week in the House committee, just as the sponsor was scheduled for a week long absence. After considerable testimony and questions, a motion was made to ”hold it in committee til time certain (meaning a specific date would be set) at the discretion of the chair”. Time is of the essence. If it IS to become law this session, it must travel through more steps and the time it has to travel through before the State’s budget gets set and legislators must pack up and go home may be short.. It was initially rescheduled for Monday March 30 to be heard a second time in committee. It was however not on the schedule when Monday came because a subcommittee had informally formed and amendments were being fleshed out between the resistors and  the committee’s pediatrician standing in for the sponsor. Of course, it was behind closed doors, as is the custom of the majority party.  Sought were changes to the original bill that would be acceptable to the subgroup that had diverse requirements for approval for passage. Thursday, April 2^nd, it was heard in committee and without discussion was sent to general orders. While it was clear that criminal background checks were to be kept intact, amendments were presented to eliminate licensure requirements for daycares that had under 7 unrelated children. That would mean in these smaller facilities, there need not be a working phone, smoke detectors or fencing around water International fire codes were also identified to be eliminated. One that might cause a considerable roadblock for the return trip back to the Senate side will be the funding requirements added to the bill. Instead of being a program funded by the licenses of the daycare operators, the program was altered to only be supplemented by the operators, costing the state $30,000 in this year of economic downturn.

  Team 17 hopes that Senate Bill 1112a will be able to survive the House amendment process, pass the House, and return back to the Senate for their review and consideration before the Legislature closes this year. If there needs be, a special process may have to be invoked in which a special committee comprised of chosen Senators and Representatives must convene to decide if the bill can be made acceptable to both houses for passage this year.