Richard Pan

California's new vaccine exemption laws, Senate Bills 276 and 714, are mired in bureaucratic confusion a year after being signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom. The laws were meant to tighten oversight of medical exemptions, requiring a standardized state exemption form and flagging doctors disciplined or under investigation by the Medical Board of California. But the state Department of Public Health has not issued guidance on key provisions, leaving school nurses unsure whether increased scrutiny of exemptions applies now or starting in 2021.

State Sen. Richard Pan, the bills' author, insists some provisions are already in effect, including invalidating exemptions written by disciplined physicians such as Dr. Bob Sears, who was placed on probation in 2018. Four doctors, including Sears, face pending board allegations tied to immunizations. Advocacy groups and school nurse associations say the lack of clarity undermines the law's intent, while critics continue protesting the legislation, including outside Newsom's residence.