Update: AB 1797 (CA Immunization Registry) Hearing Postponed

 

AB 1797 Assembly Health Committee
was postponed to next week due to technical difficulties

Keep emailing legislators on the Committee
asking them to Oppose AB 1797!

AB 1797 Immunization registry, introduced by Asm Akilah Weber would add race/ethnicity to the information recorded in the CA Immunization Registry, would require all vaccines to be entered into the CA Immunization Registry (CAIR).  Schools and other entities would have access to all vaccine records, rather than just those of their students/patients or the particular vaccines required for school, during a public health emergency.  (https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB1797)
AB 1797 was supposed to be heard in the Assembly Health Committee yesterday, Tuesday, April 19.  Yesterday’s Assembly Health Committee hearing was over 7 hours long and over 10 bills were not heard by the time it ended at 8:30pm, including AB 1797.  It started with a half hour delay because of technical issues with the phone lines and livestream.  Then Asm Arambula’s bill relating to Medi-Cal was heard for the next one and a half hours, until 4pm when AB 2223 (Asm Wicks’ bill related to abortions) was heard for another 2 hours.  Finally the Assembly Health Committee started hearing the rest of the bills at around 6pm, but about half an hour after that the livestream when on the fritz as did the phone lines.  They heard 3 bills without the livestream or phone public comment, and then went on an hour recess at 7pm.  When they came back at 8pm and waited for another 15 mins for members who were late, Asm Wood (Chair) announced that they would 1) vote on the consent calendar at that time, 2) vote to scratch the three bills which were heard during the outage and would re-hear and revote on them next week and 3) would hear and vote on the other 10+ remaining bills next week (includes AB 1797), unless they are double referred in which case they would have a special session for those!  There are already 46 bills on next week’s hearing agenda, so next Tuesday will be another LONG hearing!  I’ll be there again!

In the meantime this gives you another week to contact legislators on the Assembly Health Committee.

Take Action TODAY!

If you have not already done so, please… Go to https://secure.everyaction.com/qZSmetPckU-t_iQHhYCZCQ2 and send an email asking the Assembly Health Committee Members to oppose AB 1797.  Please personalize this email.  You can review the points in A Voice for Choice Advocacy’s detailed letter to the Assembly Health Committee outlining our numerous concerns with the bill.  You can read our letter here: (https://avoiceforchoiceadvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/AVFCA-AB1797-Letter-of-Opposition-Weber.pdf)

Over the past 7 years, A Voice for Choice Advocacy has established itself as the leading legislative organization lobbying in the California Capitol for your health rights.  While A Voice for Choice Advocacy’s lobbying activity in the Capitol is important, your positive constituent relationships with your CA State Senator and Assembly Member and their staff are critical to assisting with A Voice for Choice Advocacy’s efforts in the Capitol.

Together we can make change happen!