Latest news with #HouseBill243
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Gov. Little signs bill deregulating child care facilities to address Idaho's shortage
Idaho Gov. Brad Little gives a press conference after delivering his annual State of the State address on Jan. 6, 2025, in the Lincoln Auditorium in the Idaho Capitol. (Pat Sutphin for the Idaho Capital Sun) Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed into law a bill to deregulate child care centers in hopes of addressing Idaho's child care shortage crisis. House Bill 243 loosens state-set minimum child-to-staff ratio standards. The bill also preempts local governments from having more stringent child care regulations than issued by the state. The law takes effect July 1. The Idaho Legislature widely passed the bill, with 80 votes in support and 17 votes against, mostly from Democratic lawmakers. Little signed the bill Thursday, according to the governor's office's legislation tracker. CONTACT US Even after the Senate amended the bill to avoid fully repealing minimum child-to-staff ratios, many child care advocates remained opposed to the bill — worrying that loosening regulations will risk harm to kids. Idaho's existing child-to-staff ratios are the 41st loosest in the nation, compared to all 50 states and the District of Columbia, a report by Idaho Voices for Children found. In other words, Idaho's existing state-set child care standards let individual staffers care for more children at a given time than most states. The new law will leave Idaho with the 45th least stringent child-to-staff ratios in the nation, Idaho Voices for Children Executive Director Christine Tiddens previously told the Idaho Capital Sun. The bill was cosponsored by Republican lawmakers Reps. Barbara Ehardt, from Idaho Falls, and Rod Furniss, from Rigby, and Sen. Carl Bjerke, R-Coeur d'Alene. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The bill will retain the state's points-based ratio that only allows up to 12-points, determined by kids' ages, per each staff member. But the underlying points for kids would almost all be reduced. Here's how the bill will change Idaho's child-to-staff ratio standards: Each child under 24 months old would remain at two points. Each child at least 24 months old but younger than 36 months would be 1.33 points. That is a decrease from the current 1.5 points in Idaho law. Each child at least 36 months old but younger than 5 years old would be 0.923 points. That is a decrease from 1 point in Idaho law. Each child at least 5 years old but younger than 13 years old would be 0.48 points. That is a decrease from 0.5 points in Idaho law. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Bill would have New Mexico join interstate compact to ease doctor shortage
NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – Whether it's struggling to find a doctor or having to wait months to see one, lawmakers are considering a handful of bills aiming to ease the healthcare professional shortage in New Mexico. Story continues below DWI Scandal: Another BCSO deputy placed on leave in connection to DWI dismissals Entertainment: Visit these 10 iconic film locations in New Mexico Events: What's happening around New Mexico March 14-20 'We have lost 8.5% percent of our doctors in the last four years and as a result, it is common and not unusual for people when they need to see a doctor, to be told they need to wait six months,' said Rep. Marian Matthews (D-Albuquerque). After a high-profile bill aiming to lower insurance caps to bring more doctors to New Mexico failed to move forward in the Roundhouse, another bill aimed at addressing the state's doctor shortage is in the spotlight on Monday. Following its unanimous passage in the house, on Monday, the Senate Judiciary Committee discussed House Bill 243. If passed, New Mexico would join an interstate compact, making it easier for doctors licensed in other states to get licensed in New Mexico to treat patients here, even via telehealth. One committee member shared the story of how it would help her friend who has a son with a rare form of cancer. 'The only way that he could contact a doctor, well let's be honest, it was part of a compact or he has to drive to Texas,' said Sen. Micaelita Debbie O'Malley (D-Albuquerque). 'That's very difficult on his family. It's costly and it's stressful. So, I would hope that there's something we could do.' 43 states and the District of Columbia are part of this compact. The committee had a long list of amendments, most of which seemed okay to the compact representative except for at least two. One of those is the committee's wish to amend the provision in the bill saying the compact commission would develop rules. 'This is the language that says any rule we make as a compact has the force of law in your state,' said Sen. Katy Duhigg (D-Albuquerque), who brought many of the requested amendments forward. The other requested amendment the compact commission representative said might be an issue was the line in the bill that grants employees of the interstate commission immunity from lawsuits. 'The purpose of that is to make sure that those state employees or medicine within the State of New Mexico or any other of the member states who are acting in good faith, will have qualified immunity from lawsuits unless they are violating the good faith requirement or acting in a malicious or intentional way to hurt someone,' said Rick Masters, general counsel for the interstate licensing compact commission. 'To eliminate immunity for anybody who is working as an agent or employee for the state of New Mexico would be, first of all, exposing those people but I'm thinking that would also be the case with the rest of the commission if some licensee decides to file some lawsuit because they claim their license wasn't properly handled.' The committee ran out of time and rolled the bill, meaning the possible amendments will be discussed further before any action. The Senate also has its own version of this bill, SB 46, which is still making its way through the Roundhouse. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Interstate health care compact bills in limbo as 60-day session enters homestretch
Mar. 17—SANTA FE — Amid a chronic health care worker shortage, New Mexico lawmakers are weighing proposals to make it easier for licensed out-of-state practitioners to work in the state. A package of bills would, if passed, allow New Mexico to join various interstate medical licensing compacts and streamline the licensing process for physicians. New Mexico is a member of a 40-state nursing compact, but has not joined similar compacts for doctors, physical therapists, dentists, mental health counselors and audiologists. With just five days left in the 60-day legislative session, some medical compact bills have already passed one chamber, but none have as of yet crossed the finish line. Though similar piecemeal bills have stalled in past years, this is the first time advocates are pushing for a comprehensive package to make it through the Legislature. One of the compact bills, House Bill 243, aimed at allowing physicians to apply for an expedited license in member states, was discussed in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday but not voted on. Sen. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, the committee's chairman, expressed concern about New Mexico physicians being subject to subpoenas issued in another state. He also referred to as interstate compacts as business ventures, adding, "It looks like a pretty creative way to make a buck." But Cervantes also said he's willing to work with advocates to try to address concerns. "We want to have more doctors in New Mexico and we want to work with you to make that happen," Cervantes said during Monday's meeting. Rep. Marian Matthews, D-Albuquerque, the bill's sponsor, said the hearing broke the ice for the bill and hinted at possible compromise amendments to come. "The committee's identified what's important ... and now we're going to go take a moment and look at it and see if there's a way to move forward," she told the Journal. Another member of the committee, Sen. Katy Duhigg, D-Albuquerque, said in a Monday interview the compact bills often feature problematic language that advocates don't want to change. Duhigg, an attorney, said a proposed social work compact bill came in cleaner than other compact legislation and the amended version that passed through the Senate Judiciary Committee cleaned it up even more. "That is the example of how they should do it. They were reasonable in removing language that was not right for New Mexico, and we passed the compact," she said. She also said it could be very dangerous to let a private commission make laws about what New Mexico does in medical care, pointing to issues like reproductive health care or gender-affirming health care. Dozens of other states joining compacts doesn't unequivocally mean New Mexico should, she said. "If other states think it's cool to let some private organization make their laws for them, OK, but that is no reason for us to do so," Duhigg said. A way to stanch chronic worker shortage? The interstate compacts are aimed at alleviating a longstanding health care provider shortage, especially in rural New Mexico. Despite recent efforts to boost funding for health care training programs at New Mexico colleges and universities, the state had an average shortage of 5,000 health care workers between 2018 and 2013, according to legislative data. Most of New Mexico's neighboring states are already members of five or more of the interstate compacts, according to Think New Mexico, a Santa Fe-based think tank that has advocated for the legislation. Founder and Executive Director Fred Nathan described the health care compacts as the most impactful short-term fix to New Mexico's doctor shortage crisis. "These are bills that the overwhelming number of states have already approved, and we have a dire shortage of health care workers. So it makes sense that these bills should all be passed this session," Nathan said. In a legislative analysis, the state Department of Health concluded that passage of the medical licensure compact would reduce the administrative burden and the time required to become licensed in New Mexico, which could increase available physicians. The DOH analysis also said an increase in primary care providers could reduce the number of emergency department visits in New Mexico by making it easier for patients to access routine care. But while legislation may be advancing through the legislative process, some advocates aren't entirely happy with changes made along the way. Matt Shafer, deputy policy director of the National Center for Interstate Compacts, emailed Cervantes on Monday with concerns that the committee changes to Senate Bill 105, concerning social work licensure compacts, would "prohibit New Mexico from being seated on the compact commission," according to an email shared with the Journal. Kristina Fisher, associate director of Think New Mexico, explained that the national commission can bar states from joining the compacts under the reasoning that, "you can pass what you want, but we can't accept it unless it's substantively the same as what every other state agreed to." She said if the Legislature passes the compact bills, the national commission could vote to add New Mexico to the compacts before the end of the year. Nathan said trial lawyers are often against the compacts because they don't want to expand immunity in lawsuits — language in some of the bills states that officers and employees of the interstate commission are immune from suit and liability. Nathan described trial lawyers' interests as self-serving, not wanting to grant lawsuit immunity, "even if the probability of suing these people is beyond remote." But Duhigg later denied that, saying, "This is not a trial lawyer thing" and some advocates aren't willing to compromise to fix bad language. Nathan said the need for interstate compacts pairs with a need to reform the state's medical malpractice statutes. A bill to limit attorney fees in medical malpractice cases died in its first committee last week. "The issue is not going away, and we're not going away," Nathan said. Fisher added, "And unfortunately, the doctors are going away — and that's what we need to address." Hospital mergers also on lawmakers' minds The House voted Monday to approve a bill, House Bill 586, giving the secretary of the state Health Care Authority the ability to decide whether to approve proposed mergers and acquisitions of hospitals and other health care facilities. "The focus of this is hospitals, and making sure the quality of care and the way we treat our workforce is the same — or better — after this transaction," said House Majority Leader Reena Szczepanski, D-Santa Fe, during Monday's debate New Mexico has the nation's highest percentage of hospitals owned by private equity firms, as 17 of the state's 45 private hospitals are owned by such firms, according to a legislative analysis.
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Controversial child care deregulation bill heads to Idaho Senate
The Senate Health and Welfare Committee narrowly approved House Bill 243 Wednesday. Among other cuts in state regulations, the bill would allow child care centers to set their own staff-to-child ratios — the most divisive of the legislation's proposed changes. (Getty Images) This story was originally posted on on March 5, 2025. A controversial child care deregulation bill is heading to the Idaho Senate. The Senate Health and Welfare Committee narrowly approved House Bill 243 Wednesday. Among other cuts in state regulations, the bill would allow child care centers to set their own staff-to-child ratios — the most divisive of the legislation's proposed changes. Currently, the state requires one staff member for a certain number of children, determined by a formula based on the age of children under a provider's care. House Bill 243 would eliminate the current statute and allow providers to set their own ratios, which must be 'appropriate to ensure the health, safety and welfare of all children in attendance.' Bill sponsor Rep. Rod Furniss said the proposal is aimed at easing Idaho's child care shortage by eliminating 'onerous regulations.' 'We're not leaving the day cares out there to run themselves,' said Furniss, R-Rigby. During an emotional public comment period Wednesday, opponents said flexible ratios could lead to increased rates of neglect and abuse. 'Stripping these key safety standards from law opens the door to operators and bad actors who cut corners to save costs,' said Christine Tiddens, executive director of Idaho Voices for Children. 'In a child care setting, cutting corners results in babies being put into harm's way.' Sen. Camille Blaylock made an unsuccessful motion to send the bill to the Senate's amending order, to reinsert the ratio standard. Blaylock, R-Caldwell, said the state sets minimum safety requirements for private businesses in other contexts, like foster care. 'We're just setting the standard, which is a good thing,' she said. 'I think there's a precedent for it.' After rejecting Blaylock's motion by one vote, the committee approved Sen. Brian Lenney's bid to advance the bill. Lenney, R-Nampa, said fears about the regulatory changes were based on 'false dichotomies' — the bill wouldn't eliminate child-to-staff ratios, he said — and he chided city 'bureaucrats' for their opposition. 'I've heard cities and bureaucrats saying that they know how to run a day care better than a day care owner,' Lenney said. 'It'd be like a bureaucrat telling a farmer the best way to milk a cow.' Kathy Griesmyer, director of government and policy affairs for the city of Boise, touted the city's efforts to incentivize child care providers by offering a property tax rebate to in-home providers, among other strategies. 'There are a number of creative and innovative ways that government can help incentivize business creation without restricting or removing safety,' Griesmyer said. A police chief and chamber of commerce president also opposed the bill, along with a handful of current and retired child care providers. Overall, nearly 40 people signed up to testify, according to Senate Health and Welfare Committee chairwoman Sen. Julie VanOrden, R-Pingree. All but two people — representatives from the Idaho Freedom Foundation and Mountain States Policy Center — opposed the legislation. Kate Haas, a lobbyist for Kestrel West, presented the bill alongside Furniss. Senate Minority Leader Melissa Wintrow, D-Boise, who opposed the bill, asked Haas who she was representing, but Haas declined to answer. According to lobbyist disclosures filed with the secretary of state, Haas has lobbied on House Bill 243 for Wonderschool, an online platform that connects parents to child care providers and offers startup resources for providers. In an online post Tuesday, Wonderschool CEO Chris Bennett wrote that he's a 'proponent of policies that detail age-specific ratios for different types of programs.' 'Although we never have and never will recommend or advocate for the elimination of child-to-staff ratios, we know that — regardless of our view — states will pursue different approaches grounded in both their unique geographic, demographic and political realities, and the broader set of policies and tools at their disposal.' The House previously approved House Bill 243 by a 54-15 vote. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Child care facility de-regulation bill widely passes Idaho House, heads to state Senate
Idaho bill to would let Idaho child care facilities to set their own child-to-staff ratios "appropriate to ensure the health, safety and welfare of all children in attendance" is headed to the state Senate. (Getty Images) The Idaho House of Representatives widely passed a bill to let child care centers set their own child-to-staff ratios. Aimed at addressing Idaho's child care crisis by easing the process to operate child care centers, House Bill 243, is co-sponsored by Idaho Republican House lawmakers Reps. Barbara Ehardt, from Idaho Falls, and Rod Furniss, from Rigby. The bill would repeal age-based child-to-staff ratios for child care facilities in Idaho law. Instead of those standards, determined on a points-based system based on the ages of children in facilities, the bill would allow Idaho child care facilities to set their own child-to-staff ratios 'appropriate to ensure the health, safety and welfare of all children in attendance.' Ehardt said the new standard would be stronger than the current one required under Idaho law, and that Idaho would retain administrative rules in the Department of Health and Welfare focused on a range of safety issues in child care facilities. 'Isn't that ultimately what we want? Because we could have a ratio of kids that were all troubled kids, and or incredibly active kids, or, you know, kids that were very difficult to handle. And that wouldn't meet this standard,' Ehardt said. On the House floor, Ehardt spent several minutes addressing what she called 'disinformation' spread by opponents of the bill. She stressed that the bill would not be eliminating child-to-staff ratios in child care facilities because Idaho regulations would still cap the maximum number of children that can be in facilities, based on their facility type. Idaho House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel, D-Boise, said child care is 'uniquely inappropriate for over de-regulation,' and that the bill 'eliminates most of the state requirements around child safety in these facilities.' 'We talk about vulnerable populations. I don't know what population is more vulnerable than 1 year olds,' she said. 'These — they are very easily injured. They are non-verbal. They can't tell us — they can't identify abuse or problems or neglect. They can't express it to people. … Parents are not coming into these places every five minutes. They're dropping their kid off at 8 a.m. and maybe coming back at 5 p.m.' Rubel said the bill totally eliminates ratios, which she assumed Idaho created for child care facilities because 'something really bad happened.' 'That's why they put in ratios, to make sure that there is adequate supervision in this incredibly delicate population, who can be so easily injured, who can choke on something in the blink of an eye if they're not being watched — and if there aren't adequate people to follow,' she said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The bill would also repeal a provision in Idaho law that allowed local regulations on child care facilities to be more stringent than standards in state law. In floor debate, Ehardt said Idaho is one of four states that allows cities to 'over-regulate,' and that city 'over-regulation' on day cares has 'shut many of them down.' 'There is a direct correlation — if you look back through the years — on the regulation, the decrease in day cares and the increase in costs, ' Ehardt told House lawmakers. 'Costs have systematically risen and skyrocketed because of the lack of child care.' Ehardt declared a conflict of interest on the House floor because she must abide by child care regulations because she works at Apple Athletic Club, which she said runs a preschool program. The Idaho House passed the bill on a 54-15 vote Thursday, with one lawmaker absent. The bill now heads to the Idaho Senate, where it could receive a committee hearing before a possible vote on the Senate floor. To become law, Idaho bills must pass the House and Senate, and avoid the governor's veto. Ehardt, on the House floor, said big day care centers, who she said are most opposed to the bill, can still use whatever child-to-staff ratios they want. 'One of the main things I heard in the testimony — parents were demonized,' Ehardt said, calling the legislation another example of a 'parental rights bill.' 'Because we trust our parents. … What we were hearing is that really 'it's government that has to dictate everything you do, because government knows best,'' Ehardt said. 'We're talking about our kids, and we're talking about … who's going to love them, who's going to watch them, and protect them.' Rep. Josh Wheeler, R-Ammon, agreed Idaho does and should trust parents. But he said parents 'need to be given the information about these self-determined ratios with some of the facilities.' 'I just feel like this bill is in its infancy,' said Wheeler, who was among five Republican House lawmakers to vote against the bill, along with all nine House Democrats. Under the bill, facilities shall comply with their child-to-staff ratios and make those ratios available to parents and guardians. Furniss, a cosponsor of the bill in the Idaho House, called deregulation 'the Idaho way.' 'Money does not solve this crisis, but deregulation will solve this crisis,' said Furniss, saying Idaho has more than doubled funds for the child care system but has seen providers decline by 10%. Rep. Marco Erickson, R-Idaho Falls, supported the bill, calling it 'common sense legislation' and will 'benefit our local communities.' 'I have a lot more faith in our families than what we've been seeing exhibited in … these debates,' Erickson said. Idaho Voices for Children Executive Director Christine Tiddens told the Idaho Capital Sun she opposed the bill in committee, saying she couldn't find out the effect of eliminating child-to-staff ratio standards 'because no other state or developed nation that licenses child care has attempted anything like this before.' 'We did find plenty of research showing that if ratios become too flexible, children experience increased rates of injuries and death,' Tiddens told the Sun in an email, saying she shared these concerns with lawmakers in a House committee hearing on the bill. 'Considering that Idaho already ranks last in the nation for childcare regulation, why would we roll back childcare ratio and supervision requirements even more?' Tiddens told the Sun. 'Stripping these key safety standards opens the door to operators and bad actors who cut corners to save costs. And in childcare settings, cutting corners results in babies being put in harm's way.' In an interview after the bill passed the House, Ehardt told the Sun state regulators would maintain their role in child care facility regulation — using existing safety regulations that the new bill wouldn't touch. Having only one staff-member-per-18-kids isn't a safe ratio, she said, and 'wouldn't fit this standard. 'If that's the way somebody starts to operate, then there would be grounds — they would not be meeting the law. And that could then be grounds for revocation of a license,' Ehardt told the Sun. And she stressed that facilities can still maintain as much regulation as they want. 'To be honest, I don't even see that as a bad thing. I really don't. … It won't even hurt them, in my opinion, for business — because the people who couldn't go there, couldn't go there because of cost,' Ehardt told the Sun. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
