Half Moon Bay Parents: Vaccine Bill Passes California Senate

By Autumn Johnson (Patch Staff)

A bill that would take away the “personal beliefs exemption” clause from state mandated vaccines has moved a step closer to being law.

It passed the state Senate Thursday and moved on to the Assembly. The vote was 25-10.

The bill was authored by Democratic Sens. Richard Pan of Sacramento and Ben Allen of Santa Monica following the measles outbreak that began at Disneyland and spread amongst unvaccinated children.

The medical exemption remains.

Gov. Jerry Brown has not spoken publically about the bill, but analysts expect him to sign it. Jack Pitney, a politics and government professor at Claremont McKenna College told the San Jose Mercury News, “I would be surprised if he didn’t sign it, because of the public health issues involved. I think the governor, on one hand, is sensitive to parental rights, but also sees public health as a major responsibility of his. The anti-vaccine folks are going to make a very hard push, but passage in the Senate is a good sign it will become law.”

Anti-vaccine advocates believe the immunizations could harm children.

The measles outbreak began in December and sickened 136 Californians before the state declared the outbreak over. It also spread to several other states.

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