Virginia 2022 Regular Session Status: In Committee

SB 587 — State Health Commissioner; powers in epidemic, religious tenets or practices.

Last action — Failed to report (defeated) in Education and Health (7-Y 8-N)

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  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Senate
  4. 4
    Passed House of Delegates
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill died with 2022 Regular Session. It reached “In Committee” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.

This bill is no longer active — its legislative session has ended, so there is no live prognosis. It would have to be reintroduced in the current session to move again.

Summary

Powers of State Health Commissioner in epidemic;vaccine; religious tenets or practices. Allows a parent or guardianto object to the vaccination or immunization of a child on the groundsthat the administration of immunizing agents conflicts with his religioustenets or practices, even if an emergency or epidemic of diseasehas been declared by the State Board of Health, which is not allowedunder current law. The bill also provides that nothing shall precludethe State Health Commissioner from requiring immediate immunizationof all persons in the case of an epidemic of any disease of publichealth importance for which a vaccine exists other than a person,including a parent or guardian on behalf of a child, who objectson the grounds that the administration of the vaccine conflicts withhis religious tenets or practices. Under current law, the only exceptionto the Commissioner's power to require immediate immunization of all persons in case of an epidemic of any disease of public health importancefor which a vaccine exists is for a person to whose health the administrationof a vaccine would be detrimental as certified in writing by a physicianlicensed to practice medicine in the Commonwealth.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Failed to report (defeated) in Education and Health (7-Y 8-N)

  2. Impact statement from DPB (SB587)

  3. Referred to Committee on Education and Health

  4. Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/12/22 22102195D

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 147 not signed on · 8 voted No

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (147)

147 members have not signed on to this bill.

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"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

Failed to report (defeated) in Education and Health (7-Y 8-N)

Failed 7 Yea · 8 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 7800
Total 7800
% of votes cast 47%53%0%0%
How each member voted (15)
Member Party Vote
Barker, George L. — Nay
Cosgrove, John A., Jr. — Yea
David R. Suetterlein — Yea
Dunnavant, Siobhan S. — Yea
Edwards, John S. — Nay
Hashmi, Ghazala F. — Nay
Howell, Janet D. — Nay
L. Louise Lucas — Nay
Lewis, Lynwood W., Jr. — Nay
Mamie E. Locke — Nay
Mark J. Peake — Yea
Newman, Stephen D. — Yea
Petersen, J. Chapman — Yea
Saslaw, Richard L. — Nay
Todd E. Pillion — Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

public-safety civil-rights healthcare
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does SB 587 do?
Powers of State Health Commissioner in epidemic;vaccine; religious tenets or practices. Allows a parent or guardianto object to the vaccination or immunization of a child on the groundsthat the administration of immunizing agents conflicts with his religioustenets or practices, even if an emergency or epidemic of diseasehas been declared by the State Board of Health, which is not allowedunder current law. The bill also provides that nothing shall precludethe State Health Commissioner from requiring immediate immunizationof all persons in the case of an epidemic of any disease of publichealth importance for which a vaccine exists other than a person,including a parent or guardian on behalf of a child, who objectson the grounds that the administration of the vaccine conflicts withhis religious tenets or practices. Under current law, the only exceptionto the Commissioner's power to require immediate immunization of all persons in case of an epidemic of any disease of public health importancefor which a vaccine exists is for a person to whose health the administrationof a vaccine would be detrimental as certified in writing by a physicianlicensed to practice medicine in the Commonwealth.
Who sponsors SB 587?
SB 587 is sponsored by Mark J. Peake.
What is the current status of SB 587?
This bill died with 2022 Regular Session. It reached “In Committee” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.
Where can I track SB 587?
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