Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Associated Press
SACRAMENTO
California lawmakers on Monday sent the governor a contentious bill that would impose one of the strictest school-vaccination laws in the country in reaction to a recent measles outbreak at Disneyland.
The Senate reaffirmed the bill striking California’s personal belief exemption for immunizations on a 24-14 vote. Mississippi and West Virginia are the only two states with such strict requirements in place.
Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown has not said if he would sign it.
Parents opposed to the bill vowed to take legal action even though the issue has been upheld in court, including by the Supreme Court.
“I will sue to put my child in school,” said Jude Tovatt of Roseville and the parent of an 8-year-old child. “I will not run from the state that is our home.”
Other parents cheered the legislative vote and immediately turned their attention to swaying Brown.
“I know that he is very pro-science and that’s really what this bill comes down to: leadership in public health, and supporting evidence-based science,” said Hannah Henry, mother of four from Napa who started Vaccinate California, a parental group in support of the bill.
Brown has 12 days to decide the bill.