On Monday 2/12/18 the Senate voted to not concur with the House amendment placed last week on SB1168. To view their vote, follow this link: https://goo.gl/gZ5Pzi
The Senate passed SB1168 last year; however, it was amended in the House this year, so the bill had returned to the Senate where it was originally passed for action on the amendment.
SB1168 would require the Department of Children’s Services to maintain staffing levels of case managers so that each region has enough case managers to allow caseloads to be at not more than:
(1) Twenty (20) active cases relating to initial assessments, including investigations of an allegation of child abuse or neglect; or
(2) Twenty (20) children monitored and supervised in active cases relating to ongoing services
The House amendment changed the language from “not more than 20” to “the average of 20”.
Since the Senate voted not to concur with the House amendment, the bill goes back to the House and the motion there is that the House either recede or refuse to recede from its position in adopting the amendment.
If there is a refusal to recede, it then becomes necessary to appoint conference committees, consisting usually of at least three members of each house, to meet and attempt to reconcile the differences between the two houses on the bill or to recommend a course of action agreeable to both houses.
HB972/SB1168 is sponsored by Rep. Courtney Rogers and Sen. Joey Hensley, and is part of TSEA’s legislative agenda.
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