You made a difference!
But have you talked to your Senator yet?

On Tuesday, A Voice for Choice Advocacy, and a number of other organizations, posted an action alert to call the CA Senate Rules Committee to ask that SB 871 (COVID-19 Vaccine Requirement for Daycare/School) and SB 866 (Immunization Minor Consent) be referred to multiple committees.  The committee was inundated with calls, which caused even their voicemail to fill up and not accept any more messages!

The Senate Rules Committee met yesterday at 1:30pm and no bills were referred to any committees.  Senator Tony Atkins, started the meeting by addressing the public's concerns that these bills were being fast-tracked (Watch here: https://youtu.be/yf80qqXos3U) .  She clarified that the Senate had voted (31 - 6) to dispense with Article IV, Section 8(a) of the CA Constitution and to suspend Joint Rules 55, thereby waiving the 30 day in print rule, for ALL bills introduced in the Senate thus far (not just the two vaccine related bills).  She further explained that for COVID planning, this made it easier to coordinate sending as possible to a committee so as to reduce the number of hearing dates needed.  She ended with saying that even with the 30 day in print rule being waived, there will be no committee hearings until March.  Therefore it is critical in the next few weeks as many people as possible meet with their Senators and express their concerns with these two bills.

Take Action:  Make an appointment TODAY to meet with your CA State Senator today to discuss SB 871 and SB 866.
- Not sure who that is, enter your address here: https://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov/ (Note: No need to contact your Assembly Member yet)
- Not sure how to set up a meeting and build a trusted relationship with your legislators, watch this webinar: https://youtu.be/NGwnwAcJJZ4
- Not sure what to say: Talking points can be found in A Voice for Choice Advocacy's letters to the legislature, opposing the bills:
SB 866 Minors: vaccine consent (Weiner): https://www.avoiceforchoiceadvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/AVFCA-SB866-Letter-of-Oppose-unless-Amended-Wiener-Pan.pdf

SB 871 Public health: immunizations (Pan): https://avoiceforchoiceadvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/AVFCA-SB871-Letter-of-Opposition-unless-Amended-Pan.pdf
There is also a strong op-ed in from the SF Gate by Dr. Tracy Beth Høeg and Dr. Vinay Prasad, explaining why the likely costs of requiring the COVID-19 vaccine for school would not outweigh the benefits, to share with your Senator and their staff: https://www.sfgate.com/politics-op-eds/article/California-vaccine-mandate-schools-COVID-omicron-16832461.php

If you found this information helpful and appreciate the work A Voice for Choice Advocacy is doing, please support us by making a donation today.

Together we can make change happen!

C

Christina Hildebrand
President/Founder
A Voice for Choice Advocacy, Inc.
[email protected]
www.AVoiceForChoiceAdvocacy.org