This Week Inside the Capitol

September 27, 2011

More Parents Defying Vaccination Requirements

by Rebecca Burgoyne, 
CFC Research Analyst

Parents currently have final authority to determine which vaccines their child receives, but it is getting more difficult. California law requires children entering kindergarten have proof of certain immunizations. Parents with objections have two options  – a medical exemption (requiring a doctor’s signature) or a personal-belief exemption. Last year, more than 11,000 kindergartners entered school without at least one vaccine, a number that has been climbing. The percentage of parents who sign personal-belief exemptions has risen steadily since 2004, coinciding with the rising use of the Internet to find information, according to John Talarico, who heads the immunization branch of the California Department of Public Health. One activist told the Associated Press, “Parents have access to so much information on the Internet and … even when they're really well educated, [a parent] will have a hard time sifting through the credible resources versus the anecdotal stories. You can find whatever you want on the Internet to support your belief."

Last year, California experienced a deadly spike in whooping cough (also known as pertussis). The outbreak – which sickened more than 9,000 and killed ten young babies – led to legislation requiring secondary-school students receive a booster shot for pertussis prior to returning to school this fall. Despite a 30-day extension for students to provide proof of immunization or a parental exemption, many parents say they were caught off guard, and schools are dealing with the fallout of unvaccinated students. Now legislators are looking at tougher legislation for schools defying the law and allowing unvaccinated students on campus. 

Governor Jerry Brown is being lobbied from all sides on the hundreds of bills on his desk. While he has signed a few key bills – including one reflecting a tax deal legislators reached with Amazon – many of the bills tracked by CFC remain on his desk. These include AB 499 (Atkins, D-San Diego), which allows minors to circumvent parent authority and consent to medical care related to the prevention or treatment of a sexually transmitted disease (STD). The focus of AB 499 is to allow teens to receive the hepatitis-B and the controversial human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccines without parental knowledge. Should Brown sign AB 499, parents might not know if their child receives treatment for an STD or is administered a vaccine – let alone determine or consult on the safety or need for it. 

With less than two weeks to go before the governor’s signing deadline, you can contact the governor or find more information about any of the bills on his desk tracked by California Family Council, using our convenient online legislative action center. (On the site, page down to 2011-12 Bills Signed by the Governor.) 

On the Governor’s Desk:
AB 9 (Ammiano, D-San Francisco) Pupil Rights: Bullying
Passed Assembly 52-26
Passed Senate 24-14; Assembly concurred in Senate amendments 53-26; to governor

AB 90 (Swanson, D-Oakland) Human Trafficking: Minors
Passed Assembly floor 79-0
Passed Senate 36-0; Assembly concurred in Senate amendments 79-0; to governor

AB 203 (Brownley, D-Woodland Hills) Parent Empowerment: School Intervention
Passed Assembly 53-26
Passed Senate 24-13; Assembly concurred in Senate amendments 53-26; to governor

AB 433 (B. Lowenthal, D-Long Beach) Transgender Birth Certificates
Passed Assembly 52-22
Passed Senate 23-13; to Assembly for concurrence in Senate amendments
Assembly concurred in Senate amendments 51-26; to governor

AB 499 (Atkins, D-San Diego) Minors: Medical Care: Consent
Passed Assembly 50-25
Passed Senate 22-17; to governor

AB 620 (Block, D-San Diego) GLBT Rights: Postsecondary Education
Passed Assembly 51-24
Passed Senate 23-15; Assembly concurred in Senate amendments 51-26; to governor

AB 673 (Perez, D-Los Angeles) Office of Multicultural Health: LGBT Communities
Passed Assembly 49-24
Passed Senate 23-14; Assembly concurred in Senate amendments 51-26; to governor

AB 768 (Gatto, D-Burbank) Male Circumcision
Passed Assembly 75-0
Passed Senate 37-0; to Assembly for concurrence in Senate amendments
Passed Assembly 78-0; to governor

AB 887 (Atkins, D-San Diego) Gender
Passed Assembly 54-24
Passed Senate floor 25-13; Assembly concurred in Senate amendments 51-25; to governor

AB 1156  (Eng, D-El Monte) Pupils: Bullying
Passed Assembly 50-27
Passed Senate; Assembly concurred in Senate amendments 52-27; to governor

SB 182 (Corbett, D-San Leandro) Judiciary Demographic Data
Passed Senate floor 23-14
Passed Assembly 52-25; Senate concurred in Assembly amendments 23-15; to governor

SB 381 (Pavley, D-Santa Monica) School Attendance: Residency Requirements
Passed Senate 37-0
Passed Assembly 77-0; to governor

SB 416 (Kehoe, D-San Diego) Health: Survey: Gender
Passed Senate 25-14
Passed Assembly 53-26; Senate concurred in Assembly amendments 25-15; to governor

SB 651 (Leno, D-San Francisco) Domestic Partnerships
Passed Senate 24-15
Passed Assembly 52-26; Senate concurred in Assembly amendments 25-15; to governor

SB 747 (Kehoe, D-San Diego) LGBT Sensitivity Training for Health Care Providers
Passed Senate 25-12
Passed Assembly 47-26; to governor

SB 757 (Lieu, D-Redondo Beach) Heath Insurance: Discrimination
Passed Senate 25-13
Passed Assembly 50-24; to governor