While the world moves past the pandemic, data from many studies and reports show that COVID-19 policy has caused incalculable damage to our economy and the social and educational development of our children.
Despite the evidence, California legislators including Richard Pan, Buffy Wicks and several others continue to push outdated policy that may be made into law. These destructive policies will hurt disadvantaged communities the most as we have seen over the last two years.
California board members and legislators have focused on limiting their own liability at the expense of the physical and mental health of our most vulnerable and continue to legislate out of fear.
Board member Laura Capps admitted her reason for mandating the vaccines at the Santa Barbara Unified School District was she heard a rumor that an alleged unvaccinated teacher may have been sick and potentially infected three children. This was when 85% were already vaccinated so the odds were that the teacher was vaccinated. Santa Barbara Unified claimed to follow Public Health recommendations on COVID-19 policy while creating policy above and beyond any official recommendation.
Who will be responsible for these destructive policies that continue to be pushed? Why are they ignoring the damage they have caused?
Here’s the current legislation that is being proposed in California. Most people are thinking that the pandemic is over. For these politicians, it’s just the beginning.
SB 871 would mandate the COVID-19 vaccine for all kids for school or child care. It was referred to the Senate’s health and education committees. No hearing date has been set.
SB 866 would eliminate parental consent for kids 12 to 17 to get the COVID-19 vaccine. It was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee. No hearing date has been set.
SB 1479 would require schools to continue COVID-19 testing and create new testing plans. It was referred to the Senate Rules Committee. It has not been referred to a policy committee.
SB 1464 would require police to enforce lockdowns and mask mandates. It was referred to the Senate Health and Public Safety committees. Hearing was postponed.
AB 1993 would require all employers to mandate the COVID vaccine for employees and independent contractors. It was referred to the Assembly Labor and Employment and the Senate Judiciary Committee. No hearing has been set.
AB 1797 would provide greater access and less privacy for the California Immunization Record Database. It is still in the Assembly Rules Committee; it has not been referred to a policy committee.
AB 2098 would subject doctors to disciplinary conduct for sharing COVID-19 “misinformation.” It was referred to the Assembly Business and Profession Committee. No hearing date has been set yet.
If you want to find out more about these bills and learn how to be more involved in the shaping future of California please visit www.theunityproject.com.
Justin Shores
Stand Up Santa Barbara
