02/05/2026 Senate Committee on Rules

Vice chairman's so anxious. I'm gonna let him do the prayer.

Knew that was coming. Thank you so much for allowing me to to pray with you. Please bow your heads. Please, Lord, continue to look over us in our decisions, and please guide us in your will. And continue to look over us in our travels, and, may God speed us home.

In Christ's name I pray. Amen.

Amen. Alright. If you look in your folders on your rules consideration calendar, we're gonna have a little theme tomorrow, a little children and family day. So, senator Kirkpatrick, you're gonna be a busy lady. You take it away.

You got three bills. Let's go ahead and cover them all.

Okay. Great. Senate bill three eighty three is the first one. That is an agency bill from GBI, and it cleans up and child fatality review process.

Alright. We got any questions for the author? No questions. Alright. Moving on.

I'll skip down Senate Bill four thirty one, which has to do with immediate enrollment of foster students within two days of changing schools. As you know, they change placements in schools frequently, but some of our school districts are not immediately enrolling them, which causes them to get behind. Their credits don't transfer, and, we even heard a story of somebody that had a repeated grade.

K. Any questions? No questions. Alright. SR six twenty

SR six twenty two is a joint study committee. Everyone's aware of the significant issues with the deficit at DHS that have shown up recently. That's not a new problem. The government shutdown didn't help with it, but we need to get to the bottom of it and try to make recommendations to try to address the rising costs of, out of home care for the foster kids.

Okay. And then s b four zero two, I can cover that. There's, currently a pilot program. I believe it's in District 12. Is that right, madam chair?

And, they're looking at autism in foster youth, and they're they found in District 12 that have that autism is, I believe, six times more prevalent in in foster children than it is in, children outside of foster care. And so, senator Tillery wants to expand to two more districts, the pilot program, so that they can, see if the numbers match up in those two districts. And then we get to, after that is done, then we'll try to figure out, you know it'll probably I would assume be a two pronged approach where we would look at resources to provide parents so that the child doesn't end up in foster care, but also making sure foster parents and homes have the resources they need when they are with those foster children. But that's just an assumption. But this bill simply expands the pilot program from one one district to three.

Any questions? Are y'all impressed I knew that? Right. I am. We're glad glad to have

you on the children and families committee.

Yeah. I'm on there. That helps. Alright. Let's pick a few.

Senator Harbison, we left off with you.

SB402.

SB402. Senator Kaussert.

We'll go with, SP383.

SP383. Alright. Senator Robertson.

Has anybody picked up SR622?

They have not.

I would love to have that.

Alright. Okay. That's three. Let's do one more. Senator Jackson.

Oh my god. Last but not least, SB431.

SB431. Alright. I've got SB383, SB402, SB431, and SR622.

So moved.

I've got a motion from my vice chairman, a second from senator Anderson. Any further discussion? All in favor, say aye. Aye. All opposed, say nay.

Motion carries unanimous. And, just so you know, if your bill was on the yellow sheet yesterday but not today, it will be back on tomorrow. So amongst a few others. So no fretting. Alright.

Meeting adjourned.