The day-care licensing bill has cleared the House Health & Welfare Committee on a unanimous vote, but only with extensive amendments attached - including requiring licensing only for day cares with seven or more unrelated children, while still requiring criminal background checks for those with four or more. The amendments also remove all requirements for continuing education for day-care workers in day cares with fewer than 13 children; make some adjustments to fees, with the result that the bill may carry a cost to the state of some $30,000 rather than being self-funding; and make various other changes. Basic health and safety requirements, including requiring a working phone, smoke detectors, fencing around water, remain for those day cares that would be licensed, but not for the smaller ones with fewer than seven children.

"This is an improved version," said Rep. Steven Thayn, R-Emmett. Rep. Jim Marriott, R-Blackfoot, said, "The no licensing of the six and lower - I think that was a big thing that I was hung up on before, because I live in a rural area, and everybody knows everybody. ... I just didn't think we should ask them to go through that."

Both Democrats and Republicans on the committee backed the amended bill, and Rep. Branden Durst, D-Boise, seconded Rep. Lynn Luker's motion to send the bill to the House's amending order with the amendments attached. "I hope that we can get something done to get our kids in a more safe place," Durst said. Committee Chairwoman Sharon Block, R-Twin Falls, said, "I think this was a good compromise bill and I think it was a bill the committee could support - we had a unanimous vote. I think it will provide protection for Idaho's children, and it also will allow the child care providers in the rural areas to stay in business and to have safety measure in place for the children, so I'm very pleased." Child-care licensing legislation has been proposed every year for the last five years; this is the first time it's ever gotten out of committee in either house. The bill earlier passed the Senate, 30-5.

"This time it was successful," Block said. "That's what happens when we all work collaboratively." Sen. Tim Corder, R-Mountain Home, said some of the amendments may cause difficulty in the Senate, particularly the fiscal impact; the bill may have to go to a conference committee, he said. If it passes, he said, "I'll be pleased that we have done something it has taken 20 years to do. I just would've been more proud if we were protecting all the children."

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