Regulating Child Care Center Fees

Added language specifying that prospective families who refuse offered child care slots are not eligible for refunds under the program.

Added clarification that families who enroll and sign contracts with child care programs are bound by the program's terms.

Removed the '3rd Reading Unamended' stamp and associated date, indicating the bill is now in a revised state after amendments.

Removed the signature page, legislative status notes, and page headers that were present in the final act version.

Added a bill summary section explaining the bill's purpose and key provisions.

Changed the bill's header information to reflect its rerevised status and committee assignments.

Reorganized and slightly reworded the definitions of child care program fees (application, deposit, and wait list fees) for clarity.

Simplified the requirements for fee refunds and administrative fee deductions.

Rephrased enforcement provisions regarding department inspections and compliance timelines.

Formatting and layout adjustments including signature line updates, spacing changes, and minor text corrections throughout the document.

Added note about legislative status and signature requirements for the Governor.

Added clear definitions for child care program application fee, deposit fee, and wait list fee to ensure consistent understanding across the industry.

Mandated that fees be refunded if families are not enrolled within six months, with a reasonable administrative fee allowed before refund.

Required child care programs to provide fee schedules and refund processes to prospective families upon joining wait lists, registering, or upon request.

Required child care programs to provide fee schedules and refund processes to enrolled families upon enrollment, fee schedule amendments, or refund process amendments.

Established a 30-day compliance window after inspection and clarified that disciplinary action focuses on deliberate violations rather than good faith administrative errors.

Set the effective date as January 1, 2026, with a provision for referendum petitions to delay implementation until November 2026.

Exempted contract terms and fees to hold offered child care slots from the fee regulation requirements.

Expanded the definition of child care program to include neighborhood youth organizations.

Added additional House sponsors (Amabile, Bridges, Coleman, Cutter, Exum, Hinrichsen, Jodeh, Kolker, Michaelson Jenet) to the bill sponsorship list.

Updated header text from 'ENGROSSED' to 'REENGROSSED' and added legislative status note indicating third reading unamended on February 20, 2025.

Removed requirements for child care programs to provide fee schedules and refund process information to prospective families upon joining wait lists, registration, or request.

Removed requirements for child care programs to provide fee schedules and refund process information to enrolled families.

The definition of 'child care center' was changed to 'child care program' and now includes neighborhood youth organizations.

Refund rules for wait list and application fees were updated to require refunds if a family is not enrolled within six months, with the exception of a reasonable administrative fee.

A new provision was added stating that fees to hold a child care slot offered to a family are not subject to the refund requirements.

The requirement for transparency and accountability was updated to require child care programs to provide fee schedules and refund processes to prospective families upon joining a wait list, registration, or request.