California Legislature Passes School Vaccine Bill

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, the parent of an 8-year-old child. “I will not run from the state that is our home.”

Brown has 12 days to decide the bill.

“The governor believes that vaccinations are profoundly important and a major public health benefit, and any bill that reaches his desk will be closely considered,” Brown’s spokesman, Evan Westrup, has repeated in recent days.

This article appeared in print on page 3 of the June 30th, 2015 edition of Hamodia.