| HP0586 LD 798 |
Session - 129th Maine Legislature C "A", Filing Number H-120, Sponsored by
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LR 80 Item 2 |
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| Bill Tracking, Additional Documents | Chamber Status | ||
Amend the bill by inserting after the enacting clause and before section 1 the following:
‘Sec. 1. 20-A MRSA §6355, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2001, c. 326, §2, is further amended to read:
Amend the bill by inserting after section 1 the following:
‘Sec. 2. 20-A MRSA §6355, sub-§4 is enacted to read:
Sec. 3. 20-A MRSA §6358, as amended by PL 2001, c. 326, §3 and PL 2003, c. 689, Pt. B, §6, is further amended to read:
§ 6358. Rules; requirements; reports
Sec. 4. 20-A MRSA §6359, sub-§3, ¶A, as amended by PL 1991, c. 146, §3, is further amended to read:
Amend the bill by inserting after section 2 the following:
‘Sec. 3. 20-A MRSA §6359, sub-§6, as amended by PL 1991, c. 146, §4, is further amended to read:
Immunization requirements more stringent than the provisions of this subchapter may be adopted by a school board or by policy of a private school's governing board.
Sec. 4. 22 MRSA §802, sub-§4-B, ¶A, as enacted by PL 2001, c. 185, §2, is amended to read:
Amend the bill in section 4 in paragraph A in the 6th line (page 1, line 15 in L.D.) by inserting after the following: " belief" the following: ' , nurse practitioner or physician assistant'
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 5 and inserting the following:
‘Sec. 5. Rules. The Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services shall amend their rules to remove any rules exempting persons from immunization requirements because of their religious or philosophical beliefs.
Rules adopted pursuant to this section are routine technical rules pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, section 6358, subsection 1 and section 6359, subsection 6.
Sec. 6. Effective date. Those sections of this Act that amend the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 22, section 802, subsection 4-B, paragraph A and Title 22, section 8402, subsection 3, paragraph A and that repeal Title 20-A, section 6355, subsection 3 and Title 20-A, section 6359, subsection 3, paragraph B take effect September 1, 2021.’
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or section number to read consecutively.
SUMMARY
Current law allows exemptions from immunization requirements based on religious or philosophical beliefs for students in elementary and secondary schools and postsecondary schools and employees of nursery schools and health care facilities. This amendment, which is the majority report, removes those exemptions effective September 1, 2021.
Current law relating to enrollment in any public or private elementary or secondary school provides that the superintendent may not permit any child to be enrolled in or to attend school without a certificate of immunization for each disease or other acceptable evidence of required immunization or immunity against the disease except when the parent or child provides a physician's written statement that immunization against one or more of the diseases may be medically inadvisable. Instead, the amendment requires the parent or child to provide a written statement from a licensed physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant that, in that physician's, nurse practitioner's or physician assistant's professional judgment, immunization against one or more of the diseases may be medically inadvisable.
Current law relating to immunization of students enrolled in any public or private postsecondary school provides that a chief administrative officer may not permit a student to be enrolled in or to attend a school without a certificate of immunization for each disease or other acceptable evidence of required immunization or immunity against the disease except when the parent or the student provides a physician's written statement or a written statement from a school health provider that immunization against one or more of the diseases may be medically inadvisable. Instead, the amendment requires that the parent or the student provide a written statement from a licensed physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant that, in that physician's, nurse practitioner's or physician assistant's professional judgment, immunization against one or more of the diseases may be medically inadvisable.
The amendment keeps the directive in the unallocated section of the bill to the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services to remove any immunization exemptions based on religious or philosophical beliefs from their rules.
The amendment places in statute the directive in the unallocated section of the bill allowing a student who is covered by an individualized education plan and has elected a philosophical or religious exemption from immunization requirements to continue to attend school under the existing exemption as long as a licensed physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant provides a statement that the physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant has provided information on the risks and benefits associated with the choice to immunize.
The amendment also requires the Director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention within the Department of Health and Human Services to submit a report, by January 1st of each odd-numbered year, to the joint standing committees of the Legislature having jurisdiction over health and human services matters and education matters concerning any new developments in the evaluation of vaccine safety and effectiveness. The joint standing committees of the Legislature having jurisdiction over health and human services matters and education matters are each authorized to submit a bill during the legislative session in which the report was submitted.