This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.
SACRAMENTO — After months of political hurdles, major protests and some last-minute fixes, two bills that make it harder for parents to choose not to vaccinate their kids became law.
Demonstrators packed the State Capitol on Monday to protest the controversial vaccination bills.
Chaining herself to the Capitol doors, Erin Romero Massengale claims her son would lose his medical vaccine exemption under Senate Bill 276.
“He’s my son. I’m committed to protecting him. That is my job,” she said. “Our representatives are not listening to us. … This is what it’s come to.”
She’s one of at least six demonstrators taken into custody as hundreds protested two bills that would tighten the rules for school vaccine exemptions for children.
“If your child genuinely needs a medical exemption, we want your child to get it and we want your child to be safe at school,” Dr. Richard Pan, the state senator who authored SB 276, said.
Along with SB 276, Pan wrote companion bill SB 714 — making some revisions requested by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The measures would order the Department of Public Health to investigate doctors who grant more than five medical exemptions in a year, along with schools with immunization rates under 95%.
Dr. Pan has pointed to a number of school districts where more than 10% of students are not vaccinated because they got exemptions.
“You know that each of those schools is a risk for the children who attend them,” he said.
Newsom indicated that he would sign SB 276 as soon as the companion bill passed. He signed both bills immediately after SB 714 cleared the Senate.
Gov. Newsom Signs Controversial Vaccine Bills




