A bill to crack down on excessive medical vaccine exemptions passed the California legislature Sept. 4 and will now head to Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk, reports The Sacramento Bee.
The bill, which passed the Senate in a 28-11 vote, would allow state health officials to investigate physicians who approve five or more medical exemptions annually, along with schools with less than a 95 percent vaccination rate.
While Mr. Newsom shared his intentions to sign the bill in June, he is now seeking changes to the legislation. At present, the bill dictates that physicians must certify their medical exemptions are accurate under the penalty of perjury. Mr. Newsom wants to eliminate this penalty, along with the retroactive counting of a physician's medical exemptions.
It is unclear whether Mr. Newsom will still sign the bill if lawmakers do not pass these changes.