The Maine State House and Senate considered the five emergency bills for the Department of Health and Human Services Aug. 30, passing all but one, with multiple amendments.

Gov. Paul LePage sponsored the bills in response to two deaths of young children under the supervision of DHHS in 2017 and early 2018.

The only bill not to pass was LD 1919, which would have made it a crime to fail to report suspected child abuse. The bill had come to the Legislature as a divided report, but the Health and Human Services Committee said it preferred that the civil remedy already in the law – a possible $500 fine – be tried first.

LD 1920 gave more time for DHHS caseworkers to access unsubstantiated child abuse allegations. It was amended to bar the information's use in judicial or administrative proceedings.

LD 1921, which allows DHHS to obtain private criminal information, such as the result of a deferred disposition, passed easily.

LD 1922, which changed the language on family reunification from “priority” to “reasonable effort," had a majority Ought Not to Pass report from the Committee, but in the Senate and House, it passed as written.

LD 1923, an omnibus spending bill for DHHS which had already been amended to include 16 new caseworkers and eight case aides, was further amended to include a separate reimbursement rate for mental health assistance for trauma. Its sponsor, Rep. Malaby of Hancock, said he hoped it would clear some of the waitlists for behavioral health care, address needs of traumatized children, and use evidence-based practices.

Late in the day, the bills were reconciled and enacted. They now go to LePage to sign.