Melissa Wintrow — Melissa Wintrow was identified as the member who moved to approve the minutes from February 12, 2026, and the motion was repeated/attributed again as the same action.
Melissa Wintrow — Senator Wintrow is identified as asking a question.
Melissa Wintrow — Asks to hear from DEQ staff about the bill.
Melissa Wintrow — Natalie Walker addresses Senator Wintrow directly while explaining the bill.
Melissa Wintrow — Senator Blaylock is named as the second on the motion.
Melissa Wintrow — Senator Harris notes that there is a testifier; then a question is raised. The transcript also includes a garbled address to Wheeler.
Melissa Wintrow — Asks Wheeler to define prior authorization and notes she does not have her glasses with her.
Melissa Wintrow — Wheeler responds to Senator Wintrow's question.
Melissa Wintrow — Addressed by the speaker in reference to the earlier question about prior authorization.
Melissa Wintrow — The speaker says the prior explanation should answer Senator Wintrow's question.
Melissa Wintrow — Asks whether delayed care due to prior authorization can also increase costs.
Melissa Wintrow — Representative Wheeler responds directly to Senator Wintrow's question.
Melissa Wintrow — The transcript appears to misrecognize Senator Wintrow's name while she asks whether Wheeler worked with providers during bill drafting.
Melissa Wintrow — Senator Wintrow thanks Representative Wheeler and says the bill responds to the J-Lock OPE report and uses research to generate positive change.
Kevin Cook — Seconded the motion to approve the February 12, 2026 minutes; name appears as 'Senator Kaiser' in transcript, which is questionable.
Britt Raybould — A motion was made to approve the minutes of February 17, 2026, and it was seconded by Senator Kaiser. The transcript repeatedly identifies the speaker as Senator Kaiser, though this attribution appears questionable.
Camille Blaylock — Moved to approve the minutes from February 16, 2026.
Camille Blaylock — Asked for a motion and then made the motion to send HB 593 to the floor with a due pass recommendation.
Camille Blaylock — Spoke in support of the motion and praised the clarity of the bill changes.
Camille Blaylock — Senator Blaylock is called on to make a motion.
Carrie Semmelroth — Senator Carrie Semmelroth is welcomed to the committee and then introduces herself as the State Senator for District 17 in Boise, presenting House Bill 593.
Shawn Dygert — The transcript says 'Senator Shippey' as the second; this is questionable and may refer to another senator.
Doug Okuniewicz — Senator Burkey is welcomed at the start of the exchange and then thanked after presenting the bill, making this a single brief procedural moment in the meeting.
Roy E. Gurran — Roy E. Gurran, a lawyer and lobbyist representing Republic Services, explains that Republic participated in the DEQ process that led to the legislation before the committee and urges members to send the bill to the floor with a do pass recommendation, offering to answer questions.
Natalie Walker — Natalie Walker, the chief of DEQ’s Hazardous Waste Bureau, introduces herself and explains that the hazardous waste facility siting legislation is intended to protect public health and the environment. She says the bill is essentially the same as legislation DEQ prepared the previous spring, and describes how it considers the location of new hazardous waste treatment facilities, takes into account local concerns such as county and city planning and zoning, and allows conditions to be recommended for siting licenses to mitigate those concerns.
Mark Harris — Senator Harris moves to send House Bill 714 to the Senate floor with a do pass recommendation, and the motion is recorded as having been seconded by Senator Blaylock.
Josh Wheeler — Representative Josh Wheeler presents House Bill 788 to the committee, introducing himself and his district, offering a brief light remark, and explaining the bill’s purpose and policy rationale. He describes the measure as a practical effort to reduce administrative burden rather than make cash payments, answers committee questions about why the bill uses a cap of 100 professionals as a pilot size, and clarifies that prior authorization is defined elsewhere in statute before continuing to explain the process. He concludes by inviting further questions.
Josh Wheeler — Representative Wheeler was invited to close the bill presentation, and the exchange concluded with thanks to him for bringing the bill.
Dori Healey — Wheeler says Representative Healy worked with him extensively on the bill over the past two years.
Christy Zito — Discussion of Senator Blaylock’s support for the legislation and the possibility of her carrying it in the Senate. The speaker notes that Blaylock has been helpful on the Senate side and says they spoke with her about potentially carrying the bill, including related legislative details.
Joe Palmer — The transcript says 'Senator Harris' asks the question; this is a member mention in the exchange, but the speaker identity is uncertain from the garbled text.
Dustin Manwaring — Representative Wheeler discusses the harms of prior authorization and argues for advancing House Bill 78/788 as a narrow pilot program. He cites examples of patients being denied or delayed care, including a cancer-related procedure and a constituent who suffered nerve damage after being required to complete weeks of physical therapy before imaging. Wheeler says prior authorization decisions are often made by corporate entities outside Idaho and can worsen outcomes, including emergency room visits. He emphasizes that the bill is designed to gather actionable data, notes that he worked with providers, insurers, and the Department of Health and Welfare during drafting, and asks the committee to move the bill forward with a sunset date.
Fred Burmbaum / Mr. Bumbaum (questionable spelling) — An online testifier is introduced and greets the committee; the name appears with inconsistent spelling in the transcript.
Fred Burndown / Fred Burmbaum / Mr. Bumbaum (questionable spelling) — Testifies in opposition to House Bill 78 on behalf of the Idaho Freedom Foundation and argues prior authorization is a cost-control check and balance for Medicaid.
Fred Burndown / Mr. Bumbaum (questionable spelling) — Fred Burndown/Mr. Bumbaum argues that prior authorization is an important cost-control tool for Medicaid, noting the program’s large expense to the state. He then says the bill is not the right way to increase preceptorships because it could add costs, and closes by urging the committee to hold the bill in committee.
Mr. Wernbaum (questionable spelling) — The chair asks for questions for the witness, using a misspelled version of the name.
Josh Tanner — Representative Wheeler introduces House Bill 724 and thanks the committee.
Brandon Mitchell — Wheeler cites Representative Mitchell as a fellow legislator involved in the foster system.
Kylie Billingsley — The first in-person testifier is called to the table.
Dr. Kylie Billingsley — Dr. Billingsley identifies herself as a child psychologist, foster parent, and self-represented witness.
Ms. Billingsley — The chair notes that Ms. Billingsley submitted a very thick packet of stories with her testimony, and adds that those stories were emailed to every committee member with a note indicating they were part of her testimony for the day.
Monique Perry — Monique Perry, an adoptive mother from District 13, testifies that her child suffered severe respiratory and nutritional problems that worsened after visitation. She says she repeatedly reported the concerns to the social worker and guardian ad litem, kept documenting the child's struggles, and pleaded with the department not to require visits because he was always struggling. After more than a year of documentation, letters from multiple physicians, and video evidence of asthma attacks following visitation, the court finally suspended visits for 30 days. She concludes that it should not take so long for a child's right to safety to be protected.
Lindsay Wright — Lindsay Wright testifies in person and summarizes two anonymous accounts involving the same family to illustrate a troubling child welfare pattern. She describes repeated abuse, child protection reports, reunification, and later removal of the twins for severe abuse, noting that records showed extensive prior concerns about the mother’s ability to safely parent. She explains that the twins were eventually reunified despite those concerns and argues that the Foster Care Safety Act, H.B. 724, would help judges have the full history and make better-informed reunification decisions.
Kevin Watson — Kevin Watson is introduced as the next testifier and then identifies himself as a current foster parent and former foster youth, testifying in support of House Bill 724.
Jeremy Rudolph — Identified himself as a licensed foster parent in Idaho and began testimony supporting the bill.
Mr. Rudolph — Referenced as a foster parent who has celebrated multiple reunifications.
Tina Day — She identifies herself as the witness's grandmother and adopted mother.
Amory Day — The child witness is identified as Amory Day, though the spelling is uncertain in the transcript.