Legislation requiring clergy to report child abuse stalls again in Olympia [View all]

An attempt to require clergy to report child abuse or neglect met a quiet end Wednesday amid disagreement between the House and Senate on whether to exclude information shared in confession.

A Senate-passed bill, described as a “delicate compromise” by its author, exempted disclosures in confession while still requiring religious leaders to notify authorities when they have reason to believe a child is at imminent risk of harm, even if their belief is based in part on what they heard in confession, or other penitential communication.

But the House Human Services, Youth and Early Learning Committee didn’t advance Senate Bill 6298 ahead of Wednesday’s deadline for action on non-budget policy legislation from the opposite chamber.

Members of both parties on the panel did not want to protect what is said in confession.

https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2024/02/21/legislation-requiring-clergy-to-report-child-abuse-stalls-again-in-olympia/