Latest news with #HB1586
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Texas Legislature approves making vaccine exemption process easier
A bill that makes it easier for parents to opt their children out of school-required vaccinations is closer to reaching Gov. Greg Abbott's desk after passing the Texas Senate 23-9 late Sunday. State Rep. Lacey Hull's House Bill 1586 does nothing to change the childhood vaccine schedule. Instead, it will allow parents to download the state's conscientious exemption form at home. Currently, parents have to contact the Texas Department of State of Health Services and request the exemption form be mailed to them. HB 1586 now heads to Gov. Greg Abbott's desk for his approval, according to Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, who carried the bill in the upper chamber. Hull and the two main groups supporting the bill – Texans for Vaccine Choice and Texans for Medical Freedom – tried to steer clear of the heated debate about vaccination requirements by emphasizing her bill was merely 'about a form' and reducing the bureaucratic effort and cost surrounding that form. 'If someone is testifying today that makes this bill about vaccination themselves, they are not being truthful and honest about what this bill is actually about,' said Jackie Schlegel, executive director for Texans for Medical Freedom, when the bill came before the Senate Health and Human Services Committee on May 21. 'HB 1586 simplifies the process for Texas families to exercise a right that is already protected by state law.' Rebecca Hardy, president of Texans for Vaccine Choice praised the Senate's quick action Sunday, calling it a historic win for parental rights. 'This common sense legislation will allow Texas parents to conveniently print vaccine exemption forms from home, ending the unnecessary, costly, and outdated requirement of waiting for forms to be mailed by the state,' Hardy said. Schlegel, reached Sunday, echoed Hardy's sentiment. 'It's a huge step for retaking every Texan's medical decisions and freedom back,' she said by text message. 'Texans are relieved and the country watches closely as we regain our constitutional rights back!' But Terri Burke, executive director of The Immunization Partnership, which advocates for disease prevention through vaccine use, had argued that making the exemption form easier to access will inevitably drive down vaccination rates for school-age children. 'It is disheartening that, like the House of Representatives, the Senate chooses to believe this measure is simply about the way a form is delivered,' she said late Sunday. 'How they can ignore a near epidemic of measles in places with already high exemption rates and think this won't encourage more disease outbreaks is beyond my ability to understand or explain.' The argument that the exemption form was hard to access resonated with lawmakers, including Kolkhorst, the chair of the Senate health committee. 'I will just say this about the form. It actually happened to me,' Kolkhorst said at the May 21 committee meeting. Last summer, her then-20-year-old son Jake needed to show proof of his meningitis vaccination to stay in the dorms at Baylor University to take two summer school classes. He had taken it years earlier but needed to get another one when the senator suggested getting an exemption form. The process, she said, was not easy. 'Oh, my goodness, that was a lot. I mean, like a lot, to be able to get that and get it in time for him to get into Baylor summer school,' Kolkhorst said. 'I just thought that I could go online and do it.' It was a winning pitch as Hull's bill sailed through both chambers despite the fact that it drew far more critics than supporters in both House and Senate committee hearings. Those critics insist the measure will make vaccine exemptions easier to obtain, making it easier for childhood diseases to spread, as the state battles the nation's worst measles outbreak since 2000. Since January, there have been 728 cases of measles connected to an outbreak in West Texas. Two children have died from measles so far, according to the state health agency. 'House Bill 1586 is an effort to fix something that is not broken,' said Rekha Lakshmanan, with The Immunization Partnership, which advocates for disease protection. 'This bill is more than just a form. The form in question is a choice that comes with real responsibilities.' Lakshmanan said the bill will make it so easy to opt out of childhood vaccinations that the vaccination rates of schools will drop even more. 'Sadly to say, the consequences of this bill will not be unintended. Instead, they are completely foreseeable,' she said during last week's hearing. 'If this bill becomes law, Texas is likely to see more illness, more death, and higher health care costs for families and businesses.' Data shows Texans' growing interest in obtaining exemptions to vaccines since 2003, when then-state Sen. Craig Estes offered a measure that allowed Texans to claim a conscientious exemption in addition to established exemptions based on medical and religious reasons. Since 2018, the requests to the Texas state health agency for an exemption form have doubled from 45,900 to more than 93,000 in 2024. All requests for exemptions are granted. Disclosure: Baylor University has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here. First round of TribFest speakers announced! Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Maureen Dowd; U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio; Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker; U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California; and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas are taking the stage Nov. 13–15 in Austin. Get your tickets today!
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Texas House pushes bill that threatens vaccine safeguards amid measles outbreak
May 12—AUSTIN — The Texas House of Representatives is considering advancing House Bill 1586 (HB 1586), a dangerous proposal that would lead to more unvaccinated children in schools — just as the state faces a deadly measles outbreak. As of last week, the bill has been placed on the General State Calendar and is headed for a vote by the full House. The Immunization Partnership (TIP) strongly opposes HB 1586 because it poses a direct threat to the health of children, immunocompromised individuals, the elderly and communities across Texas. Both confirmed childhood deaths and the majority of hospitalizations in the current measles outbreak have occurred among unvaccinated children. HB 1586 goes against the views of most Texans, who support strong vaccine requirements to protect public health. "This bill is a clear danger to the safety of our communities," Terri Burke, executive director of The Immunization Partnership, said in a news release. "Rolling back protections in the middle of an outbreak is reckless. Once again, the Legislature is ignoring the will of its constituents. More people testified against this bill in committee than testified for it, and 72 percent of the written comments opposed it. It's fair to ask: Who are lawmakers really listening to?" School vaccine exemptions in Texas have more than doubled since 2018. HB 1586 would only accelerate this trend by removing guardrails to protect children, increasing the risk of future outbreaks. If the public wants to help stop HB 1586 and protect children's health, they can contact their Texas state representative through an electronic form at
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Bill that would make vaccine exemptions easier advances in the Texas House
A Republican-backed bill that could make vaccination exemptions easier to obtain in Texas made it out of the House Public Health Committee on Thursday in a 7-6 vote along party lines. If House Bill 1586, authored by state Rep. Lacey Hull, R-Houston, is approved by both chambers of the Legislature, the state's current exemption form would be downloadable as a pdf, bypassing the need to contact the Texas Department of State Health Services directly and having a form sent to an applicant's home address. 'This bill is about government efficiency,' Hull said on Monday when she laid out the details before the committee. Several health professionals testified against the bill, citing the state's current measles outbreak in West Texas as evidence that falling vaccination rates put the entire state at greater risk for infections and disease. Data shows a consistent rise in interest in obtaining exemptions to vaccines since 2003, when then-state Sen. Craig Estes offered a measure that allowed Texans to claim a conscientious exemption in addition to established exemptions based on medical and religious reasons. Since 2018, the requests to the Texas state health agency for an exemption form have doubled from 45,900 to more than 93,000 in 2024. All requests for exemptions are granted. 'The passage of HB 1586 … marks a major milestone for Texans, signaling that more legislators have begun to recognize that vaccine choice rights are inherent and not given by the government,' said Rebecca Hardy, president of Texans for Vaccine Choice, which supported the bill. Jackie Schlegel, executive director of Texans For Medical Freedom also praised the bill's passage. 'Texans are taking their freedom back from the government,' she said. Vaccination proponents expressed frustration of the committee's passage of the bill. 'Once again the legislature is ignoring the will of their constituents,' said Terri Burke, executive director of The Immunization Partnership, a nonprofit group that advocates for vaccination access and education. More people testified against this bill in committee than testified for it and 72 percent of the written comments opposed it. So who are these people representing?' Tickets are on sale now for the 15th annual Texas Tribune Festival, Texas' breakout ideas and politics event happening Nov. 13–15 in downtown Austin. TribFest 2025 is presented by JPMorganChase.
