Public officers and employees; 120 hours of maternal birth leave; provide

The header was updated to reflect that the bill is now a 'Committee Substitute' rather than a 'House Substitute', and the names of the sponsoring representatives were added.

Minor formatting adjustments were made to the page headers and footers, including the alignment of the bill title and page numbers.

The definition of 'eligible employee' was changed from individuals who 'give birth' to those who 'experience a life event,' expanding the potential scope of who can qualify.

New provisions were added to ensure hourly employees are eligible if they have worked a minimum of 700 hours in the six months preceding the request.

'Maternal birth leave' was redefined as paid time off for 'a qualifying life event,' and 'qualifying life event' was explicitly defined as giving birth to one or more children in a single or multiple pregnancy.

The maximum paid leave entitlement was increased from 80 hours to 120 hours per rolling 12-month period.

The timing for taking leave was adjusted from a strict 'three-week period following birth' to 'immediately following the qualifying life event,' providing more flexibility.

A new provision clarifies that if a paid state holiday occurs during the leave period, the employee is only compensated for that holiday, not double-paid.

The deadline for the State Accounting Office to update its software to include the new leave category was moved forward from July 1, 2027, to October 1, 2026.

The anti-retaliation section was strengthened to explicitly prohibit adverse actions against employees who submit false documents to obtain the leave.