Division III votes to retain HB519 and recommend folding its funding request into HB 2

Chairman Edwards convened the Division III Finance work session on Feb. 14, 2025, and the committee voted to retain HB519 and recommend that its subject matter be placed into House Bill 2 for budget-level consideration.

The motion to retain HB519 and refer the measure to the full finance committee was made by Representative Priest and seconded by Representative Seaworth; the committee approved the recommendation by show of hands with no visible opposition. Chairman Edwards framed the plan as a way to ‘‘retain 05/19, put the material in HB 2, and then determining at a later date the level of funding’’ during the budget process.

Mary Rose Deak, a member of the public, addressed the committee in opposition to Waypoint funding. Deak said the money ‘‘could be better spent to teach the youth skills, real skills that they can use in the workplace rather than wasted on mental health services’’ and characterized some mental-health providers as ‘‘fraudsters.’’ The chair and members questioned whether Deak’s testimony targeted Waypoint specifically and noted HB519 is intended to provide state resources for Waypoint’s shelter operation and wraparound services.

Bianca Gentile, the policy advocate for Waypoint, told the committee the organization’s priority ‘‘first and foremost is for the safety of youth and children’’ and that ‘‘anything that we can do to keep the people in the population that we serve safe, that is gonna take precedence.’’ Gentile said Waypoint would comply with federal and state requirements and agreed to provide additional line-item budget details requested by committee members.

Committee members debated whether to retain the bill or to explicitly place its content into HB 2. Representative Daniels and others pressed for additional review before committing budget placement; after discussion Rep. Daniels moved ‘‘that we take the content of 5 19 and place it in House Bill 2 for further discussion’’ and that motion was seconded and supported by the committee.

Next steps: Division III recommended that HB519 be retained and its subject matter be considered within HB 2 during the upcoming budget deliberations; staff will provide scheduling and the committee intends to review line-item budget information from Waypoint before a final funding decision.

Ending: The committee moved on to HB71 after recording the recommendation on HB519.