California lawmakers dropped this year鈥檚 most controversial public health bill into Gov. Gavin Newsom鈥檚 lap on Wednesday, but it鈥檚 not clear whether he will sign the measure, which would tighten the rules for exempting children from routine vaccinations.
The state Senate voted 28-11 to approve by state Sen. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento), prompting protesters who were watching from the gallery to chant, 鈥淵ou are not representing California for all!鈥 All Senate Republicans the measure and all Democrats voted in favor, except for one who didn鈥檛 vote.
Another protest from opponents as 鈥檚 SB276, which tightens the rules for vaccine medical exemptions, passed the Senate and heads to the governor鈥檚 desk: 鈥淲elcome to Calabama, y鈥檃ll鈥
— Alexei Koseff (@akoseff)
Newsom, a Democrat, he would sign the bill after it had been amended at his request. But on Tuesday, announced that he wants more changes.
Pan said he鈥檚 open to working with Newsom, but 鈥渢his is the bill that the Governor鈥檚 office agreed to and said that they would commit to sign.鈥
The Governor appreciates the work the Legislature has done to amend . There are a few pending technical 鈥 but important 鈥 changes to the bill that clarify the exemption and appeal process that have broad support. (1/2)
— California Governor (@CAgovernor)
As passed, the bill would give public health officials the authority to review vaccination exemptions issued by doctors and revoke any they deemed 鈥渋nappropriate鈥 or 鈥渋nvalid.鈥 It is intended to curb what has been described by public health experts as a dangerous increase in questionable medical exemptions.
Previous amendments requested by the governor broadened the eligibility for children鈥檚 medical exemptions from vaccines and narrowed the circumstances under which state public health officials could review those exemptions.
Under that version of the legislation 鈥 the one passed by lawmakers Wednesday 鈥 the state Department of Public Health would automatically review exemptions for children at schools where more than 5% of students weren鈥檛 immunized, and from doctors who had written more than five medical exemptions in a calendar year.
Parents would be able to appeal rejected exemptions to an independent panel appointed by the secretary of California鈥檚 Health and Human Services Agency.
The changes Newsom now wants to make include clarifying that a doctor鈥檚 previous medical exemptions wouldn鈥檛 be considered by state officials; the state wouldn鈥檛 start counting them until the bill takes effect Jan. 1, his office said.
Newsom also wants to remove a provision that would require doctors to certify under penalty of perjury that their exemptions are accurate. And he is requesting that, in order to protect patients鈥 medical information, the legislation specify that exemption forms would not be accessible through the Public Records Act.
Additional amendments would be made in separate legislation that would have to be approved by the legislature before its Sept. 13 end-of-session deadline.
Vaccines have become an explosive topic in the legislature and around the country, even as numerous studies show and .
The debate over vaccines comes amid the biggest measles outbreak since 1992: More than have contracted measles nationally so far this year, including .
Opposition to Pan鈥檚 bill has engendered raucous rallies outside the Capitol, aggressive and coordinated social media campaigns and disruptions of committee hearings by chanting and crying vaccine skeptics. Last month, Pan, who has faced numerous threats for carrying the bill, by a man who confronted him about the ingredients in vaccines.
鈥淎nti-vaxxers have attempted to dehumanize me and other public health advocates on social media while making death threats,鈥 Pan said in a statement after the incident.
Vaccine skeptics argue that the bill is a form of government overreach and that the state鈥檚 ability to revoke medical exemptions would disrupt the patient-doctor relationship.
California already has some of the strictest vaccine laws in the country under a measure implemented in 2016 that banned vaccine exemptions based on religious and personal beliefs. Under that law, children can be exempted only on medical grounds, and those who don鈥檛 have their shots or a doctor鈥檚 exemption are barred from attending schools.
Since the law took effect, the number of medical exemptions has jumped, and they are clustered in many of the same parts of the state that previously had high rates of religious or personal belief exemptions, according to . Around the state, reported that 10% or more of their kindergartners had been granted medical exemptions in the 2018-19 school year.
Exemptions , according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They are typically reserved for children with severely compromised immune systems, such as those being treated for cancer or those who are allergic to a vaccine component or have previously had a severe reaction to a vaccine.
This story was produced by聽, which publishes聽, an editorially independent service of the聽.
