Learn About Legislation We Support and Oppose
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LEGISLATION WE SUPPORT
WA State runs on a biennium system. The 2019-2020 biennium has ended, and all bills that did not pass are now considered “dead.” To learn more about how Bills become Laws in WA, see this Guide from the State.
There are no bills currently before the legislature. The new 2021-2022 biennium will begin in January, 2021.
Below are bills introduced in previous bienniums, no longer active, not voted on.
SJM 8012 (2019, referred to Law & Justice; 2020 reintroduced and retained in present status) & HJM 4010 (referred to Civil Rights & Judiciary; 2020 reintroduced and retained in present status) Requesting that Congress allow design defect claims against vaccine manufacturers by individuals who have experienced adverse side effects caused by vaccines.
HB 2626 (Introduced in 2020 and referred to House Health Care Committee) Providing a limited informed consent exemption to state vaccination requirements. This bill would automatically provide an Informed Consent Exemption if certain basic safety studies have not been performed on the products available on the market, or if the products available are not capable of preventing person-to-person transmission in a public setting.
SB 6636 (Introduced in 2020 and referred to Health and Long Term Care Committee) Monitoring vaccine adverse events. Creating a state vaccine event reporting system and requiring health care providers to report, annual reports to be generated, published publicly, and patterns of events investigated.
SB 5365 (In 2019, Senate Health & Long Term Health Committee voted to pass and referred it to Ways & Means; 2020 reintroduced and retained in current status ) & HB 1019 (In 2019, referred to the House Health Care Committee; 2020 reintroduced and retained in current status) Concerning vaccination and antibody titer test notification. Establishes the vaccine consumer protection act. Establishes a requirement for health care providers to notify individuals, before vaccine administration, of the option to obtain serologic proof of immunity in lieu of vaccination for all vaccines for which there is a licensed antibody titer test.
HB 1741 (In 2019, referred to Rural Development, Agriculture, & Natural Resources; 2020 reintroduced and retained in present status) Concerning rabies antibody titers as proof of immunity. Specifies that positive antibody titer results constitute serological proof of immunity for rabies and are acceptable to meet rabies vaccination requirements by agencies in the state for dogs, cats, or other household pets.
HB 1275 (In 2019, referred to the House Health Care Committee; 2020 reintroduced and retained in current status) Establishing a database to monitor the adverse effects of vaccinations. Requires the department of health to: (1) Establish the adverse vaccine reaction monitoring program and a database to collect reports from persons who have had an adverse reaction following the administration of a vaccine approved by the federal food and drug administration; and (2) Collect a one-dollar fee from every licensed health care provider for each vaccine that he or she administers. Creates the adverse vaccine reaction monitoring account.
HB 1276 (In 2019, referred to the House Health Care Committee; 2020 reintroduced and retained in current status) Preventing human and environmental exposure to mercury. Finds that all forms of mercury are neurotoxic, nephrotoxic, and immunotoxic and there is no known safe level of human exposure. Eliminates or restricts mercury from certain products to protect humans and the environment.
HB 1976 (In 2019, referred to the House Health Care Committee; 2020 reintroduced and retained in current status.) Concerning vaccine safety. To assure the public regarding the safety of immunization measures, establishes minimal vaccine safety testing requirements.
HB 2840: Concerning vaccines containing mercury or aluminum.
HB 2841:Distributing information about the risks associated with vaccinations.
HB 2842:Notifying parents and guardians about immunization exemptions.
HB 2090: Prohibiting the administration of a vaccine without reviewing the patient’s full health history and reviewing the package insert for the vaccine with the patient.
HB 2092:Regulating the content of the immunization exemption form by prohibiting the form from requiring detailed statements regarding objections to vaccination, prohibiting the form from requiring a declaration regarding potential risks, and requiring the form to indicate when a signator is exercising his or her freedom of religion.
LEGISLATION WE OPPOSE
WASHINGTON STATE BILLS WE OPPOSE
Bills introduced in previous bienniums, no longer active, not voted on, or passed.
HB 1638 (state bill passed into law 2019 legislative session); removed the personal/philosophical exemption to the MMR and added requirement for certain adult daycare workers to show proof of vaccination or proof of positive titers.
SB 5841 (state bill introduced but not brought to the floor during the 2019 legislative session; passed by the Senate Health & Long Term Care Committee, referred to Rules, filed in the X-files. ” After certain cut-off dates, as a house-keeping measure, the Senate Rules Committee sometimes places bills no longer eligible for consideration in the “X-File.” This removes them from Rules calendars and the daily status sheet keeping those lists from becoming too long and unwieldy. They usually remain in the X-File until the end of the biennium.” see: Rules Guide) This bill removes the personal/philosophical exemption to all daycare/school required vaccines.
State bills which impact vaccination:
Comprehensive Sex Ed (CSE): HB 2184, SB 5395 / HB 1407, SB 6175 Requiring comprehensive sexual health education, which includes affirmative consent curriculum in all public schools by the 2022-23 school year in accordance with the recommendations here and here of the sexual health education work group.
School-based Health Centers HB 2288: Creating statutory authorization for school-based health centers. This bill potentially gives minors easy access to medical services without parental approval and without parents even being informed. HB 2708 Establishing a work group on school-based health centers. SB 6279 Expanding school-based health clinics.
FEDERAL BILLS:
(follow links to determine current status)
H.R. 2862 “To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for a national system for surveillance of vaccine rates, to authorize research on vaccine hesitancy, to increase public understanding of the benefits of immunizations, and for other purposes.”
H.R. 2527 Vaccinate All Children Act (Introduced May 3, 2019) “To amend the Public Health Service Act to condition receipt by States (and political subdivisions and public entities of States) of preventive health services grants on the establishment of a State requirement for students in public elementary and secondary schools to be vaccinated in accordance with the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, and for other purposes.”
S. 1619: Vaccinate Act– A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for a national campaign to raise awareness of the importance of, and combat misinformation about, vaccines in order to increase vaccination rates. (Introduced 05-22-19)
H.R. 1973: Vaccines Access Improvement Act of 2019 (Introduced on 03-28-19) “This bill modifies the excise tax on certain vaccines to (1) automatically impose the tax on vaccines that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) adds to the Vaccine Injury Table, and (2) require HHS to notify the Department of the Treasury and Congress when new vaccines are added to the table. (The excise tax funds the National Vaccine Injury Program, which compensates people who have been injured by vaccines listed on the table.)”
H.R. 1371: Flu Vaccine Act (02-26-19) “To conduct or support further comprehensive research for the creation of a universal influenza vaccine.”
S 570: Flu Vaccine Act (02-26-19) “To conduct or support further comprehensive research for the creation of a universal influenza vaccine.”
7. H.R. 2858: A bill to support endemic fungal disease research, incentivize fungal vaccine development, discover new antifungal therapies and diagnostics, and for other purposes. (Introduced 05-21-19)
S. 1567: A bill to support endemic fungal disease research, incentivize fungal vaccine development, discover new antifungal therapies and diagnostics, and for other purposes. (Introduced 05-21-19)
H.R. 2361: Hep A Act of 2019 (Introduced 04-25-19) “To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to administer vaccinations for hepatitis A, at no cost to the inoculated, in certain areas at risk of a hepatitis A outbreak.”
H. Res. 179: A resolution recognizing the importance of vaccinations and immunizations in the United States (Introduced 03-05-19)
S. Res. 165: A resolution recognizing the importance of vaccinations and immunizations in the United States (Introduced 04-11-19)
H.Res. 331: Expressing support for the designation of April 30 as “National Adult Hepatitis B Vaccination Awareness Day”. (Introduced 04-30-19)
S. Res. 177: Expressing support for the designation of April 30 as “National Adult Hepatitis B Vaccination Awareness Day”. (Introduced 04-30-19)
S.Res.159: A resolution designating April 24, 2019, as “Meningitis B Awareness Day”. (Introduced 04-11-19)
H.Res. 312: A resolution designating April 24, 2019, as “Meningitis B Awareness Day”. (Introduced 04-10-19)
