California's Sb277: Breaking The Law, Consequences And Fines

California Senate Bill 277 (SB277) is a law that removes the personal belief exemption from vaccination requirements for children attending daycare, public and private schools. The bill was signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown on June 30, 2015, and came into effect on July 1, 2016. The bill was co-authored by California state senators Richard Pan and Ben Allen and was a response to the 2014 Disneyland measles outbreak and low vaccination rates in some areas of California. SB277 faced strong opposition from anti-vaccine activists, who attempted to have Pan removed by recall election and to place a referendum to repeal the bill. Despite this, the bill was upheld as constitutional by legal scholars, and challenges to the law in court were rejected.

The bill was co-authored by California state senators Richard Pan and Ben Allen

California state senators Richard Pan and Ben Allen co-authored SB277, which was signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown on June 29, 2015. The bill removed the personal belief vaccine exemption for children attending daycare and public and private schools. This means that education for California public and private school children and daycare attendees is dependent on the receipt of multiple doses of 10 federally recommended and state-mandated vaccines, regardless of a parent's personal or religious belief objections.

Senator Dr. Richard Pan, a Democrat from Sacramento, was first elected to the Assembly in 2010, representing the 5th Assembly District, and then in 2012, representing the 9th Assembly District. He has represented California's 6th State Senate District since 2014. Over the course of his time in the legislature, he has served on numerous policy committees and has authored several important pieces of health legislation. He is a licensed California physician and pediatrician and maintains active membership and leadership roles in several medical professional associations.

Senator Ben Allen, a Democrat from District 24, El Segundo, has been serving in the State Senate since 2014. He previously worked as an attorney, a lecturer at UCLA Law School, and as communications director for U.S. Rep. Jose Serrano, a Democrat from New York. He has authored several pieces of environmental legislation, including California’s regulations that discourage the use of plastic straws and other single-serving plastic utensils.

It was supported by the California Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics' California affiliate

The California Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics' California affiliate supported SB277, which was enacted by the California Legislature in 2015. The bill was co-authored by California state senators Richard Pan and Ben Allen and was prompted by the 2014 Disneyland measles outbreak and low levels of vaccination in some areas of California, with some schools having vaccination rates below 60%.

The American Academy of Pediatrics' California Chapter 2 (AAP-CA2) works with the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) to highlight the processes implemented in public schools to keep students and staff safe from communicable diseases.

The California Medical Association also joined the vaccine advocates to launch the "I Heart Immunity" campaign in support of Senate Bill 277.

The American Academy of Pediatrics and the California Medical Association, which are funded by pharmaceutical companies, were among the bill's supporters.

Opposition to the bill was characterised as possibly the most strident outpouring of political dissent in recent memory

Opposition to California's Senate Bill 277 (SB277) was characterised as "possibly the most strident outpouring of political dissent in recent memory". The bill, which removed personal belief as a reason for an exemption from the vaccination requirements for entry to private or public elementary or secondary schools in California, as well as day care centres, was co-authored by California state senators Richard Pan and Ben Allen.

The bill was prompted by the 2014 Disneyland measles outbreak and low levels of vaccination in pockets of California, with some schools having vaccination rates below 60%. Despite this, SB277 faced opposition from citizens spanning all political, socioeconomic, ethnic, religious, and medical backgrounds. Anti-vaccine activists started a petition to have Pan removed by recall election, but failed to obtain the necessary number of voter signatures. Opponents of the legislation vilified Pan on social media, comparing him to a Nazi, and death threats were reported against both him and Allen.

During a packed hearing where more than 300 opponents, including Mixed Martial Arts champion Urijah Faber, testified against the proposed law, only one dissenting vote was cast by Republican senator Joel Anderson. The bill was supported by the California Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics' California affiliate, the California State PTA, the California Immunization Coalition, and the California Children's Hospital Association.

After the passage of SB277, groups of anti-vaccine parents challenged the law in court, arguing that it violated the right to an education, the right to religious freedom, and parental rights. These claims were rejected by the California state courts.

The bill was challenged in court by anti-vaccine parents, but their claims were rejected

The SB277 bill was challenged in court by anti-vaccine parents, but their claims were rejected by the California state courts. The anti-vaccine parents argued that the bill violated the right to an education, the right to religious freedom, and parental rights. The bill was co-authored by California state senators Richard Pan and Ben Allen and was prompted by the 2014 Disneyland measles outbreak and low levels of vaccination in pockets of California. Despite the opposition, the bill was passed by the California Legislature in 2015, with a 46–31 vote in the State Assembly and a 24–14 vote in the California State Senate. It was then signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown on June 30, 2015.

The opposition to the bill was characterized as "possibly the most strident outpouring of political dissent in recent memory". Anti-vaccine activists started a petition to have Senator Pan removed by recall election, but they failed to obtain the necessary number of voter signatures. There were also efforts by the Freedom Angels Foundation to place a referendum to repeal SB277 on the ballot, but these efforts also failed. Opponents of the legislation vilified Senator Pan on social media, comparing him to a Nazi, and death threats were reported against both him and Senator Ben Allen.

Legal scholars have stated that the removal of non-medical exceptions to compulsory vaccination laws are constitutional, citing U.S Supreme Court cases such as Zucht v. King (1922) and Prince v. Massachusetts (1944). Despite the rejection of their claims by the California state courts, groups of anti-vaccine parents continued to express their opposition to the bill.

The bill was prompted by the 2014 Disneyland measles outbreak and low levels of vaccination in pockets of California

The 2014–15 measles outbreak at Disneyland, California, was the largest outbreak of measles in two decades. It began in December 2014 and was declared over in mid-April 2015. The outbreak spread to seven US states, Canada, and Mexico. The first case was reported on 5 January 2015, in an unvaccinated 11-year-old Californian resident. By February 2015, there were 125 cases of measles across seven US states, 110 of which were in California. Between December 2014 and March 2015, 131 Californians were infected, with almost 90% of cases occurring in Southern California.

The outbreak sparked an international conversation about measles, vaccine hesitancy, and vaccine policies. It also prompted an international debate on vaccine hesitancy, as it had spread to people who intentionally declined the vaccine and put vulnerable people who could not have the vaccine at risk. The outbreak received a high level of media coverage that focused on vaccine hesitancy as a primary driver of the outbreak. This media coverage and the ostensible public support for vaccines that followed led some to hypothesise that the outbreak might have a “Disneyland effect,” or a positive influence on the uptake of paediatric measles vaccine.

The outbreak was likely a factor in the introduction of California Senate Bill 277, which repealed the state's personal belief vaccine exemption. The bill was put forward in February 2015 and the ongoing outbreak was cited during a press conference introducing the bill. The outbreak likely facilitated the bill’s passage by increasing the salience of vaccines and the risks of vaccine-preventable diseases.

The outbreak was caused by undervaccination. Prior to the outbreak, increasing rates of non-medical vaccine exemptions were found in California and to some extent, nationally. Spatial analyses also revealed clustering of vaccine exemptions, leading to underimmunised communities, which are especially vulnerable to vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks, even when overall vaccine coverage is high. Analyses of measles vaccine coverage at California schools revealed that 25% had vaccine coverage lower than levels required for herd immunity; this included several schools in Orange County, California, where the Disneyland theme park was located.

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