California 2019-2020 Regular Session Status: Enacted 3 D cosponsors

SB 276 — Immunizations: medical exemptions.

Last action — Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 278, Statutes of 2019.

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

This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced February 13, 2019. Enacted.

Prognosis

Likely to advance 82% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

High

How often bills like it became law.

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 7 sponsors

    1 primary, 6 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (3 D).

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 8 recorded votes so far.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Summary

Existing law prohibits the governing authority of a school or other institution from admitting for attendance any pupil who fails to obtain required immunizations within the time limits prescribed by the State Department of Public Health. Existing law exempts from those requirements a pupil whose parents have filed with the governing authority a written statement by a licensed physician to the effect that immunization is not considered safe for that child, indicating the specific nature and probable duration of their medical condition or circumstances, including, but not limited to, family medical history. This bill would instead require the State Department of Public Health, by January 1, 2021, to develop and make available for use by licensed physicians and surgeons an electronic, standardized, statewide medical exemption request that would be transmitted using the California Immunization Registry (CAIR) , and which, commencing January 1, 2021, would be the only documentation of a medical exemption that a governing authority may accept. The bill would specify the information to be included in the medical exemption form, including a certification under penalty of perjury that the statements and information contained in the form are true, accurate, and complete. The bill would, commencing January 1, 2021, require a physician and surgeon to inform a parent or guardian of the bill's requirements and to examine the child and submit a completed medical exemption request form to the department, as specified. By expanding the crime of perjury, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would require a parent or guardian, by January 1, 2021, to submit to the department a copy of a medical exemption granted prior to that date for inclusion in a state database in order for the medical exemption to remain valid. The bill would require the department to annually review immunization reports from schools and institutions to identify schools with an overall immunization rate of less than 95%, physicians and surgeons who submitted 5 or more medical exemption forms in a calendar year, and schools and institutions that do not report immunization rates to the department. The bill would require a clinically trained department staff member who is a physician and surgeon or a registered nurse to review all medical exemption forms submitted meeting those conditions. The bill would authorize the medical exemptions determined by that staff member to be inappropriate or otherwise invalid to be reviewed by the State Public Health Officer or a physician and surgeon designated by the State Public Health Officer, and revoked by the State Public Health Officer or physician and surgeon designee, under prescribed circumstances. The bill would authorize a parent or guardian to appeal a medical exemption denial or revocation to the Secretary of California Health and Human Services. The appeal would be conducted by an independent expert review panel of licensed physicians and surgeons established by the secretary. The bill would require the independent expert review panel to evaluate appeals consistent with specified guidelines and to submit its decision to the secretary. The bill would require the secretary to adopt the determination of the independent expert review panel and promptly issue a written decision to the child's parent or guardian. The final decision of the secretary would not be subject to further administrative review. The bill would allow a child whose medical exemption revocation is appealed to continue in attendance at the school or institution without being required to commence the immunization schedule required for conditional admittance, provided that the appeal is filed within 30 calendar days of revocation of the medical exemption. The bill would require the department and the independent expert review panel to comply with all applicable state and federal privacy and confidentiality laws and would authorize disclosure of information submitted in the medical exemption form in accordance with requirements set forth in the bill. The bill would make related conforming changes. The bill would authorize the department to implement and administer the medical exemption provisions through provider bulletins, or similar instructions, without taking regulatory action. Existing law requires the governing authority of a school or other institution to file a written report on the immunization status of new entrants to the school or institution under their jurisdiction with the department and the local health department at times and on forms prescribed by the department. This bill would instead require these reports to be filed on at least an annual basis. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 278, Statutes of 2019.

  2. Approved by the Governor.

  3. Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 1 p.m.

  4. Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 28. Noes 11. Page 2472.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling.

  5. In Senate. Concurrence in Assembly amendments pending.

  6. Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 48. Noes 19. Page 2970.) Ordered to the Senate.

  7. Assembly Rule 63 suspended. (Ayes 51. Noes 15. Page 2970.)

  8. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  9. From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 11. Noes 4.) (August 30).

  10. July 10 set for first hearing. Placed on APPR. suspense file.

  11. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  12. From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 9. Noes 2.) (June 20).

  13. From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on HEALTH.

  14. Referred to Com. on HEALTH.

  15. In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.

  16. Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 24. Noes 10. Page 1208.) Ordered to the Assembly.

  17. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  18. Read second time and amended. Ordered to second reading.

  19. From committee: Do pass as amended. (Ayes 4. Noes 2. Page 1094.) (May 16).

  20. Set for hearing May 16.

  21. May 13 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.

  22. Set for hearing May 13.

  23. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  24. From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 7. Noes 2. Page 848.) (April 24).

  25. From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on HEALTH.

  26. Set for hearing April 24.

  27. Re-referred to Com. on HEALTH.

  28. From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on RLS.

  29. Referred to Com. on RLS.

  30. From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 16.

  31. Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

1 sponsors · 6 co-sponsors · 115 not signed on · 9 voted No

Sponsors (1)

  • Pan

Co-sponsors (6)

Not signed on (115)

115 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 115 →

"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

Unfinished Business SB276 Pan et al. Concurrence

Passed 28 Yea · 11 Nay · 1 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 18801
Democratic 10000
Republican 0300
Total 281101
% of votes cast 70%28%0%3%
How each member voted (40)
Member Party Vote
Rubio — Yea
Monning — Yea
Wieckowski — Yea
Mitchell — Yea
Bradford — Yea
Beall — Yea
Atkins — Yea
Hill — Yea
Hueso — Yea
Leyva — Yea
Dodd — Yea
Skinner — Yea
Allen — Yea
Galgiani — Yea
Hertzberg — Yea
Portantino — Yea
Glazer — Yea
Pan — Yea
Moorlach — Nay
Borgeas — Nay
Bates — Nay
Morrell — Nay
Nielsen — Nay
Wilk — Nay
Chang — Nay
Roth — Not Voting
Mark Stone — Nay
Archuleta, Bob Democratic Yea
Caballero, Anna M. Democratic Yea
Durazo, Maria Elena Democratic Yea
Gonzalez, Lena A. Democratic Yea
Hurtado, Melissa Democratic Yea
Jackson, Corey A. Democratic Yea
McGuire, Mike Democratic Yea
Stern, Henry I. Democratic Yea
Umberg, Thomas J. Democratic Yea
Wiener, Scott D. Democratic Yea
Dahle, Megan Republican Nay
Grove, Shannon Republican Nay
Jones, Brian W. Republican Nay

Official roll call →

SB 276 Pan Senate Third Reading By GONZALEZ

Passed 48 Yea · 19 Nay · 12 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 291409
Democratic 19003
Republican 0500
Total 4819012
% of votes cast 61%24%0%15%
How each member voted (79)
Member Party Vote
Salas — Yea
Smith — Yea
Gonzalez — Yea
Chau — Yea
Gloria — Yea
Bloom — Yea
Rodriguez — Yea
Santiago — Yea
Chiu — Yea
Holden — Yea
Daly — Yea
Eggman — Yea
Jones-Sawyer — Yea
Quirk — Yea
Mullin — Yea
Ting — Yea
Kamlager-Dove — Yea
Levine — Yea
Low — Yea
Cooper — Yea
Wood — Yea
Rendon — Yea
Chu — Yea
McCarty — Yea
Weber — Yea
Fong — Nay
Brough — Nay
Kiley — Nay
Mathis — Nay
Cunningham — Nay
Diep — Nay
Voepel — Nay
Obernolte — Nay
Gray — Nay
Burke — Nay
Medina — Nay
Melendez — Nay
O'Donnell — Nay
Waldron — Nay
Friedman — Not Voting
Mayes — Not Voting
Frazier — Not Voting
Bigelow — Not Voting
Cooley — Not Voting
Maienschein — Not Voting
Nazarian — Not Voting
Cristina Garcia — Yea
Eduardo Garcia — Not Voting
Jim Patterson — Not Voting
Luz Rivas — Yea
Mark Stone — Yea
Wendy Carrillo — Yea
Aguiar-Curry, Cecilia M. Democratic Yea
Arambula, Joaquin Democratic Yea
Bauer-Kahan, Rebecca Democratic Yea
Berman, Marc Democratic Yea
Boerner, Tasha Democratic Not Voting
Bonta, Mia Democratic Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Cervantes, Sabrina Democratic Not Voting
Gabriel, Jesse Democratic Yea
Gipson, Mike A. Democratic Yea
Grayson, Timothy S. Democratic Yea
Irwin, Jacqui Democratic Yea
Kalra, Ash Democratic Yea
Limón, Monique Democratic Yea
Muratsuchi, Al Democratic Not Voting
Petrie-Norris, Cottie Democratic Yea
Quirk-Silva, Sharon Democratic Yea
Ramos, James C. Democratic Yea
Reyes, Eloise Gómez Democratic Yea
Rivas, Robert Democratic Yea
Rubio, Blanca E. Democratic Yea
Wicks, Buffy Democratic Yea
Chen, Phillip Republican Nay
Choi, Steven S. Republican Nay
Flora, Heath Republican Nay
Gallagher, James Republican Nay
Lackey, Tom Republican Nay

Official roll call →

Do pass.

Passed 11 Yea · 4 Nay · 3 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 5000
Unaffiliated 6403
Total 11403
% of votes cast 61%22%0%17%
How each member voted (18)
Member Party Vote
Bloom — Yea
Eggman — Yea
Gonzalez — Yea
Quirk — Yea
Fong — Nay
Diep — Nay
Obernolte — Nay
Brough — Nay
Maienschein — Not Voting
Chau — Not Voting
Bigelow — Not Voting
Eduardo Garcia — Yea
Wendy Carrillo — Yea
Bonta, Mia Democratic Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Gabriel, Jesse Democratic Yea
Petrie-Norris, Cottie Democratic Yea
Rivas, Robert Democratic Yea

Official roll call →

Do pass as amended and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]

Passed 9 Yea · 2 Nay · 4 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 4203
Democratic 5000
Republican 0001
Total 9204
% of votes cast 60%13%0%27%
How each member voted (15)
Member Party Vote
Wood — Yea
Santiago — Yea
McCarty — Yea
Burke — Nay
Waldron — Nay
Mayes — Not Voting
Nazarian — Not Voting
Bigelow — Not Voting
Wendy Carrillo — Yea
Aguiar-Curry, Cecilia M. Democratic Yea
Arambula, Joaquin Democratic Yea
Bonta, Mia Democratic Yea
Limón, Monique Democratic Yea
Ramos, James C. Democratic Yea
Flora, Heath Republican Not Voting

Official roll call →

3rd Reading SB276 Pan et al.

Passed 24 Yea · 10 Nay · 4 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 15804
Democratic 9000
Republican 0200
Total 241004
% of votes cast 63%26%0%11%
How each member voted (38)
Member Party Vote
Rubio — Yea
Monning — Yea
Wieckowski — Yea
Mitchell — Yea
Bradford — Yea
Beall — Yea
Atkins — Yea
Hill — Yea
Leyva — Yea
Dodd — Yea
Skinner — Yea
Hertzberg — Yea
Portantino — Yea
Glazer — Yea
Pan — Yea
Moorlach — Nay
Borgeas — Nay
Bates — Nay
Morrell — Nay
Nielsen — Nay
Wilk — Nay
Chang — Nay
Galgiani — Not Voting
Allen — Not Voting
Hueso — Not Voting
Roth — Not Voting
Mark Stone — Nay
Archuleta, Bob Democratic Yea
Caballero, Anna M. Democratic Yea
Durazo, Maria Elena Democratic Yea
Hurtado, Melissa Democratic Yea
Jackson, Corey A. Democratic Yea
McGuire, Mike Democratic Yea
Stern, Henry I. Democratic Yea
Umberg, Thomas J. Democratic Yea
Wiener, Scott D. Democratic Yea
Grove, Shannon Republican Nay
Jones, Brian W. Republican Nay

Official roll call →

Do pass as amended

Passed 4 Yea · 2 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 4100
Republican 0100
Total 4200
% of votes cast 67%33%0%0%
How each member voted (6)
Member Party Vote
Hill — Yea
Bradford — Yea
Portantino — Yea
Wieckowski — Yea
Bates — Nay
Jones, Brian W. Republican Nay

Official roll call →

Placed on suspense file

Passed 6 Yea · 0 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Republican 1000
Unaffiliated 5000
Total 6000
% of votes cast 100%0%0%0%
How each member voted (6)
Member Party Vote
Wieckowski — Yea
Portantino — Yea
Bates — Yea
Hill — Yea
Bradford — Yea
Jones, Brian W. Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

healthcare education
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 276 do?
Existing law prohibits the governing authority of a school or other institution from admitting for attendance any pupil who fails to obtain required immunizations within the time limits prescribed by the State Department of Public Health. Existing law exempts from those requirements a pupil whose parents have filed with the governing authority a written statement by a licensed physician to the effect that immunization is not considered safe for that child, indicating the specific nature and probable duration of their medical condition or circumstances, including, but not limited to, family medical history. This bill would instead require the State Department of Public Health, by January 1, 2021, to develop and make available for use by licensed physicians and surgeons an electronic, standardized, statewide medical exemption request that would be transmitted using the California Immunization Registry (CAIR) , and which, commencing January 1, 2021, would be the only documentation of a medical exemption that a governing authority may accept. The bill would specify the information to be included in the medical exemption form, including a certification under penalty of perjury that the statements and information contained in the form are true, accurate, and complete. The bill would, commencing January 1, 2021, require a physician and surgeon to inform a parent or guardian of the bill's requirements and to examine the child and submit a completed medical exemption request form to the department, as specified. By expanding the crime of perjury, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would require a parent or guardian, by January 1, 2021, to submit to the department a copy of a medical exemption granted prior to that date for inclusion in a state database in order for the medical exemption to remain valid. The bill would require the department to annually review immunization reports from schools and institutions to identify schools with an overall immunization rate of less than 95%, physicians and surgeons who submitted 5 or more medical exemption forms in a calendar year, and schools and institutions that do not report immunization rates to the department. The bill would require a clinically trained department staff member who is a physician and surgeon or a registered nurse to review all medical exemption forms submitted meeting those conditions. The bill would authorize the medical exemptions determined by that staff member to be inappropriate or otherwise invalid to be reviewed by the State Public Health Officer or a physician and surgeon designated by the State Public Health Officer, and revoked by the State Public Health Officer or physician and surgeon designee, under prescribed circumstances. The bill would authorize a parent or guardian to appeal a medical exemption denial or revocation to the Secretary of California Health and Human Services. The appeal would be conducted by an independent expert review panel of licensed physicians and surgeons established by the secretary. The bill would require the independent expert review panel to evaluate appeals consistent with specified guidelines and to submit its decision to the secretary. The bill would require the secretary to adopt the determination of the independent expert review panel and promptly issue a written decision to the child's parent or guardian. The final decision of the secretary would not be subject to further administrative review. The bill would allow a child whose medical exemption revocation is appealed to continue in attendance at the school or institution without being required to commence the immunization schedule required for conditional admittance, provided that the appeal is filed within 30 calendar days of revocation of the medical exemption. The bill would require the department and the independent expert review panel to comply with all applicable state and federal privacy and confidentiality laws and would authorize disclosure of information submitted in the medical exemption form in accordance with requirements set forth in the bill. The bill would make related conforming changes. The bill would authorize the department to implement and administer the medical exemption provisions through provider bulletins, or similar instructions, without taking regulatory action. Existing law requires the governing authority of a school or other institution to file a written report on the immunization status of new entrants to the school or institution under their jurisdiction with the department and the local health department at times and on forms prescribed by the department. This bill would instead require these reports to be filed on at least an annual basis. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Who sponsors SB 276?
SB 276 is sponsored by Pan, Wiener, Scott D. (Democratic), Aguiar-Curry, Cecilia M. (Democratic), Chiu, Cooper, Quirk, and Gonzalez, Lena A. (Democratic).
What is the current status of SB 276?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced February 13, 2019. Enacted.
Where can I track SB 276?
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