Senate Government Operations committee advances SB 53 on voluntary doula certification

The Senate Committee on Government Operations voted Friday, Feb. 21, 2025, to advance SB 53, a bill that would establish a voluntary certification for doulas administered through the Secretary of State's office.

Committee chair (unnamed) asked, “Is there any further discussion on this, or shall we proceed to a vote?” The clerk then called the roll. Senators Clarkson, Hearn, Bajkowski and White each recorded “yes,” and the clerk recorded a total of five yes votes. The chair acknowledged the tally; no additional discussion was recorded.

The bill, identified in committee as SB 53, was described during the meeting as setting up voluntary certification for doulas with the Secretary of State's office. The transcript shows no amendment debate, no formal statement of mover or seconder on the record, and no recorded opposition during the committee vote.

After the vote the chair closed that item and asked whether there was anything else for the committee; the committee then moved on. The transcript segment that records this action contains the committee’s initial description of the bill, the chair’s call for discussion, the clerk’s roll call and the five yes votes that advanced the item in committee.

No additional committee direction, implementation timeline, or budgetary detail was provided in the recorded segment. The transcript does not specify to which chamber or body the committee forwarded SB 53 beyond the notation that the item was “voted out.”