Governor Newsom & Democrats Put Our Children's Healthcare in the Hands of Bureaucrats

SACRAMENTO – Today, members of the California Senate Republican Caucus voted against Senate Bill 714 which combined with Senate Bill 276 would allow government to intrude into the physician-patient relationship. Both SB 714 and SB 276 would restrict a medical doctor’s right to issue vaccine medical exemptions and place them in the hands of a government bureaucracy.  The governor has signed both bills into law.

Senate Republican Leader Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield) issued the following statement:

“I am extremely disappointed that the governor signed both bills into law. These bills are not the answer to cracking down on fraudulent medical exemptions, but rather they would interfere with a family’s relationship with their child’s doctor.

“Once again, if the majority party truly wants to crackdown on physicians who issue fraudulent medical exemptions, then this body should pass legislation to provide the California Medical Board with appropriate resources rather than infringe on the doctor-patient relationship.

“Senate Democrats introduced SB 714 under a cloud of secrecy without proper committee hearings and rushed to pass it on the Senate floor. If this body truly believed in creating a California for all, it should not have placed our valuable children’s healthcare in the hands of bureaucrats,” said Senate Republican Leader Shannon Grove.

SB 714 is a companion bill to Senate Bill 276. Passed on a partisan vote last week by Senate Democrats, SB 276 would require the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) to review physicians who submit a large number of medical exemptions.