The Early Learning and Human Services Committee on Friday reported eight House bills out of committee with "do pass" recommendations and kept separate public hearings open on two measures that drew extended testimony.

The committee advanced substitute or amended versions of House Bill 1171 (attorney reporting exception), HB 1200 (payments to parents for extraordinary care services), HB 1344 (respite care in certain waivers), HB 1385 (National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact adoption and related background-check clarifications), HB 1490 (fingerprint-based background checks and related definitions), HB 1582 (childcare occupancy calculation in mixed-use buildings), HB 1724 (POLST registry and signature alternatives), and HB 1385's proposed substitute. Reported bills were accompanied by adopted technical and scope-limiting amendments in committee.

Why it matters: Several of the bills affect health- and human-services program eligibility and administration, background-check rules for caregivers, and end-of-life and advance-directive recordkeeping — areas that intersect with patient protections, state compliance with federal background-check frameworks, and caregiver workforce policy.

Key outcomes (committee action):
- Substitute House Bill 1171: Reported out of committee with a due-pass recommendation after adoption of amendment Wickham 672, which narrowed the exemption language to "information related to the representation of a client" and extended the exemption to employees supervised by attorneys. Committee tally: 10 aye, 1 excused.

- Substitute House Bill 1200: Reported out with adopted amendment HARO 681 that removed a scheduled expansion (07/01/2031) and limited payments to parents providing extraordinary personal care to children assessed in the E or B-high classification. Committee tally: 9 aye, 1 nay without recommendation, 1 excused.

- Substitute House Bill 1344: Reported out with adopted amendment HARO 682 that limited the bill to the Basic Plus waiver and capped respite-care use of the aggregate service budget at 30 percent. Committee tally: 10 aye, 1 excused.

- Proposed substitute House Bill 1385 (background-check compact): Reported out with a due-pass recommendation; the substitute adds definitions aligning with existing law (including "elderly" and "persons with disabilities") and clarifies the compact's purpose to facilitate interstate exchange of criminal-history records for National Child Protection Act checks. Committee tally: 10 aye, 1 excused.

- Substitute House Bill 1490: Reported out with technical changes and a proposed substitute that narrows when a national background check is mandatory (applicant must have lived in state less than three years for specified categories). Committee tally: 10 aye, 1 excused.

- House Bill 1582: Reported out; the bill requires occupancy calculations for childcare centers housed in mixed-use existing buildings to be based on the childcare areas only. Committee tally: 9 aye, 2 excused.

- Substitute House Bill 1724: Reported out; the proposed substitute requires providers to submit completed POLST (portable orders for life-sustaining treatment) forms to a statewide registry unless an individual opts out, requires Department of Health registry protections, and adjusts terminology for advanced practice clinicians. Committee tally: 9 aye, 2 excused.

What the committee did not finalize: The committee separately held extended public testimony on House Bill 1876 (which would create exemptions to the seven-day waiting period under the Washington Death With Dignity Act in narrow circumstances) and on House Bill 1848 (which would raise the traffic-infraction fee deposited into the Traumatic Brain Injury Account and set minimum allocations for in-person peer supports and community-integration programs). After testimony, both hearings were left open earlier in the day and later closed without a committee vote during this session.

Process notes and next steps: Reported bills will be placed on the House calendar according to the chamber's scheduling rules. Several bills were reported as amended or substituted; the committee record includes adopted amendment names and brief summaries of the amendments' effects.

Ending: Committee roll-call tallies and the language of adopted amendments will be available in the committee's formal report and the bill files on the legislative website; the public hearings on HB 1876 and HB 1848 drew extensive testimony and are likely to shape future floor debate or amendment requests.