Several proposed rule changes from the departments of Public Health and Health and Human Services drew sustained questioning from committee members about scope, statutory authority and implementation details.

The discussion matters because the rules touch health services for children and families, data practices and the ease of correcting vital records'all areas with potential effects on privacy, service eligibility and program operations.

Key points of committee scrutiny included:

- Child-care centers (ARC 8514C): Members asked why the rescinded-and-readopted childcare rules expanded the role of 16-year-olds in unsupervised activities. Senator Winkler said the change could affect safety or insurance and asked whether the modification reflected statutory change or an administrative red-tape review. Agency staff said the readoption was part of an early red tape review and agreed to provide additional information to the senator.

- Maternal-support (MOMS) program (ARC 8541C): A senator asked whether contractors under the MOMS program would be required to comply with HIPAA and keep medical information private. Agency staff did not have an immediate answer and said they would check with program staff and report back, noting they would route responses through committee staff.

- Hawkeye/CHIP reimplementation (ARC 8571C): Members pressed the agency about removal of language that previously allowed a one-month grace period for premium payment and asked whether the change was required by federal regulation or represented a state policy change. Agency staff said the red-tape review was not intended to change substance and offered to provide the committee the source for the decision and the reason the provision was stricken.

- Dental screening rule (ARC 8507C): A member said the draft appeared to omit reference to a statewide dental screening database present in prior rules, asked whether the database was functioning and requested staff to report back with status and rationale.

- Death-certificate corrections (ARC 8563C): A member asked whether proposed language that would require a court order to change or substitute a medical certificate of cause of death after 12 months aligns with the intent of 2024 legislation designed to simplify amendment of death certificates. Agency staff said they would check the rule against the statute and return with an analysis; the member requested that the committee confirm the rule achieves the statute's intent before an adopted filing is submitted.

- Child Protection Center grant program (ARC 8553C): The agency proposed rescinding an administrative chapter it said lacked explicit rulemaking authority and was duplicative of RFP and contract processes. Members asked whether statutory language that authorizes the department to make rules for the grant program had been fully considered; agency staff agreed to review the statutory citations and follow up.

Agency staff repeatedly said many of the filings result from executive order 10 and the state's red-tape review process, which in several cases rescinds and readopts chapters to remove redundancy or code-by-reference content rather than change program substance. Committee staff and agency presenters agreed to provide written follow-ups through committee staff (Jack) on the specific questions raised.

No final committee votes were recorded on these specific rule packages at the meeting; members indicated they expect additional hearings and follow-up information before final adopted filings are placed on the committee's agenda.