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AVFCA Predictions are pretty close to reality
when it comes to 2022 Legislation and
COVID Protocols
Don't get sidetracked or put your guard down
Stopping CA's BAD Bills has to be the focus!
People ask if I have a sixth sense or can look into the future. Unfortunately, I can't, but I do have eyes and ears in lots of places and I often put myself in other people's shoes and asking "What would I do?" if I were them. That allows me to make pretty solid predictions. For the past couple of months I have predicted that COVID-19 restrictions in California would be all but gone by March 31st. How? Because that is the new narrative that came out of the World Economic Forum and has been parroted by all the leaders that moved forward with lockdowns, "Build Back Better" and the Great Reset. It was only a matter of time before Governor Newsom followed his European peers, and he had to do it pretty soon because there is an election campaign that needs the "CA is back to Normal" narrative. While we can celebrate, know there is more around the corner, and it's coming down fast and furious. Don't get distracted from the work that needs to be done NOW - Stopping the BAD bills moving through the CA legislature.
AVFCA predicted there would be six ✘BAD✘ vaccine related bills introduced in the 2022 legislative session in California, and we have landed with 5 of those, plus one more. Below AVFCA gives you a detailed description of all the bills we are Opposing, Supporting and Actively Watching, so that you may do the same. Note: NONE of these bills will be heard in committee before March 14, and most likely before March 22. That leaves 2 weeks to TAKE ACTION!!
If you wish to share this information, please share this link: https://avoiceforchoiceadvocacy.org/action-alert-2022-ca-legislation-predictions-vs-reality-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/
Take Action TODAY: Take the first steps right now - don't wait for tomorrow...It won't take more than 5 minutes:
1) Make an appointment TODAY to meet with your CA Senator and CA Assembly member, or their staff, to discuss these bills. Your voice as a constituent is critical for them to hear, and will help A Voice for Choice Advocacy's efforts in the Capitol.
- Not sure who that is, enter your address here: https://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov/
- 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: Choose 2-3 bills you support and 2-3 you oppose and focus on those as you will likely only have 15-30 minutes. A crib sheet on the bills can be found here: https://avoiceforchoiceadvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/AVFCA-2022-Bills-Support-Oppose.pdf. AVFCA recommended talking points and positions are below.
2) Submit a position letter to the CA Legislative Portal
- Write a brief letter in your own words summarizing your position on each bill. This does not need to be more than a few sentences stating “I oppose XXX bill because ….”. Make sure your letter is polite, to the point, and sounds convincing. Remember you are trying to sway the legislators to vote the way you want them to, not alienate them.
- Create an account or sign in at https://calegislation.lc.ca.gov/Advocates/
- Click “Submit a letter” and enter the bill number, and follow the instructions to upload your letter to the appropriate committees, repeating for each bill.
3) Contact leaders of businesses, organizations, unions, school boards, Chambers of Commerce, City Councils, etc. who should be on our side, because they will be affected by one or more of these bills, and ask them to submit a position letter to the legislature.
✘ 2022 CA BAD Bills ✘
A Voice for Choice Advocacy Opposes the following bills:
✘ SB 871 Public health: immunizations (Pan) - Keep Schools Open and Safe Act (https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB871): Would require the COVID-19 vaccine to attend in-person daycare and K-12 public or private school, starting January 1 2023. It would also remove the personal belief exemption from future CDPH added vaccines and removes the 7th grade exemption for Hepatitis B.
Recommended Position: Oppose unless Amended
Talking Points in AVFCA’s Letter of Opposition: https://avoiceforchoiceadvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/AVFCA-SB871-Letter-of-Opposition-unless-Amended-Pan.pdf
Status: Referred to Senate Health and Education Committees (also referred to Senate Judiciary Committee but then rescinded). Will be heard in Senate Health Committee either Wednesday March 16, 23 or 30. Notice of the hearing is given at least 72 hours in advance.
✘ SB 866 Minors: vaccine consent (Wiener) - Teens Choose Vaccines Act (https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB866): Would remove parental consent and “authorize a minor 12 years of age or older to consent to vaccines that meet specified federal agency criteria. The bill would authorize a vaccine provider, as defined, to administer a vaccine pursuant to the bill, but would not authorize the vaccine provider to provide any service that is otherwise outside the vaccine provider’s scope of practice.”
Recommended Position: Oppose unless Amended
Talking Points in AVFCA’s Letter of Opposition: https://www.avoiceforchoiceadvocacyorg/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/AVFCA-SB866-Letter-of-Oppose-unless-Amended-Wiener-Pan.pdf
Status: Referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Will be heard either Tuesday March 22 or 29. Notice of the hearing is given at least 72 hours in advance.
✘ AB 1993 Employment: COVID-19 vaccination requirements (Wicks) - Keep Workplaces Open and Safe (https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB1993): Would require both private and public employers to require all employees or independent contractors to show proof of full vaccination against COVID-19, until the CDC determines that COVID-19 vaccinations are no longer necessary for the health and safety of individuals. Financial penalties would be imposed on employers who fail to comply. The requirement would not apply to a person who is ineligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine due to a medical condition or disability or because of a sincerely held religious belief.
Recommended Position: Oppose
Talking Points in AVFCA’s Action Alert: https://avoiceforchoiceadvocacy.org/action-alert-bill-to-require-covid-19-vaccine-for-all-employees/
Status: To be referred to Committee after March 13.
✘ AB 1797 Immunization registry (Weber) - Modernize California’s Immunization Registry (Spot Bill with no language currently https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB1797): Would merge the three CA Immunization Registry tracking systems to create one statewide system and all vaccines will be required 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.
Recommended Position: Oppose unless Amended
Talking Points: AVFCA does not have a formal document because the bill currently is only conceptual.
Status: To be referred to Committee after March 10.
✘AB 2098 Physicians and surgeons: unprofessional conduct (Low) (https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB2098): Would designate the dissemination or promotion of misinformation or disinformation related to the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, or “COVID-19,” by a physician or surgeon as unprofessional conduct, allowing the Medical Board to take action against such physician or surgeon. Board will base their consideration on “applicable standard of care” and “contemporary scientific consensus” neither of which currently exist for COVID-19.
Recommended Position: Oppose
Talking Points in AVFCA’s Action Alert: https://avoiceforchoiceadvocacy.org/action-alert-2022-bills-relating-to-ca-medical-board/
Status: Referred to Assembly Business and Professions Committee. Will be heard either Tuesday March 22, 29 or April 5. Notice of the hearing is given at least 72 hours in advance.
✘ SB 920 Medical Board of California: investigations: record requests (Hurtado) (https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB920): Would authorize a Medical board investigator and a medical consultant, at the discretion of the board, to inspect the business location and records of a physician or surgeon, including patient and client records, without patient’s consent. Also allows complainants the opportunity to provide a statement to be considered after final adjudication for purposes of setting generally applicable policies and standards.
Recommended Position: Oppose
Talking Points in AVFCA’s Action Alert: https://avoiceforchoiceadvocacy.org/action-alert-2022-bills-relating-to-ca-medical-board/
Status: Referred to Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee and Judiciary Committee. Will be heard in Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee either Monday March 21 or 28. Notice of the hearing is given at least 72 hours in advance.
Thankfully, no bill was introduced to mandate the COVID-19 vaccine to enter certain establishments and the HPV and Meningitis vaccine mandate to attend high school was changed to require the HPV vaccine to be covered by insurance policies.
✔ 2022 CA GOOD Bills ✔
A Voice for Choice Advocacy Supports the following bils, which can be used in meetings as positive openers.
✔ AB 1809 Nursing Facility Resident Informed Consent Protection Act of 2022 (Aguilar-Curry) (https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB1809): Would add the right of every nursing home resident to receive all information that is material to an individual’s decision concerning whether to accept or refuse any proposed treatment or procedure.
Recommended Position: Support
Talking Points: Allows informed choice for medical treatment, although it is unclear how this would pertain to those patients with conservators.
Status: Referred to Assembly Health and Judiciary Committees. Will be heard in Assembly Health Committee Tuesday, March 22 at 1:30. Position letters are due Monday, March 14.
✔ AB-2146 Pesticides: midacloprid, clothianidin, thiamethoxam, dinotefuran, and acetamiprid: prohibited nonagricultural use (Bauer-Kahan) - Banning Non-Agricultural Neonicotinoids (https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB2146): Would designate, by regulation, pesticides containing midacloprid, clothianidin, thiamethoxam, dinotefuran, or acetamiprid as restricted materials, and would prohibit, beginning January 1, 2024, the sale, possession, or use of these pesticides, except for use on an agricultural plant.
Recommended Position: Support
Talking Points: Helps protect bees and other pollinators, clean water, people, and the future of our food supply by banning five key neonicotinoid (neonic) pesticides from use in most non-agricultural settings.
Status: Referred to Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee. Will be heard either Wednesday March 23 or 30. Notice of the hearing is given at least 72 hours in advance.
✔ AB 1817 Product safety: textile articles: perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) (Ting) (https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB1817): Would prohibit any person from distributing, selling, or offering for sale in the state any textile articles that contain regulated PFAS, and requires a manufacturer to use the least toxic alternative when replacing regulated PFAS in textile articles to comply with these provisions.
Recommended Position: Support
Talking Points: There are thousands of PFAS chemicals used in manufacturing to make things water and stain-resistant. PFAS are called “forever chemicals” because they break down very slowly over time. Scientific studies have shown that exposure to some PFAS in the environment may be linked to harmful health effects in humans and animals.
Status: Referred to Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee. Will be heard either Wednesday March 23 or 30. Notice of the hearing is given at least 72 hours in advance.
✔ AB 1785 California Parents’ Bill of Rights Act (Davies) (https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB1785): Would require a charter school, school district, or county office of education to provide parents and guardians with opportunities to participate in schools to improve parent and teacher cooperation, as well as post information for parents or guardians on its internet website regarding a variety of topics.
Recommended Position: Support
Talking Points: Parents have the right to know what their children are learning and be able to have opportunities to participate in their children’s educational experience.
Status: Referred to Assembly Education and Judiciary Committees. Will be heard in Assembly Education Committee either Wednesday March 23 or April 6. Notice of the hearing is given at least 72 hours in advance.
✔ AB 2060 Medical Board of CA (Quirk) (https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB2060): Would increase the number of public members of the California Medical Board from 7 to 8.
Recommended Position: Support
Talking Points: The CA Medical Board is there to protect consumers. By adding more public members it is less dominated by people in the professions they regulate
Status: Referred to Assembly Business and Professions Committee. Will be heard either Tuesday March 22, 29 or April 5. Notice of the hearing is given at least 72 hours in advance.
✔ SB 994 Vocational nursing: direction of naturopathic doctor (Jones) (https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB994): Would allow Naturopathic Doctors to employ Licensed Vocational Nurses, while practicing within their existing scope of practice.
Recommended Position: Support
Talking Points: Currently, NDs can hire Naturopathic Assistants (analogous to Medical Assistants) who can only perform limited tasks in the office and only with the ND present. As a result, there are many tasks that the ND must perform themselves, lowering their efficiency and increasing wait times for patients. It also means that there are limited support staff with medical training in the office for patient support. SB 994 would allow NDs to hire LVNs and allow both providers to work within their existing scope of practice. This would increase LVNs exposure to the primary care setting and allow them to work more closely with doctors and patients than they might in other settings, including participation in care plan development.
Status: Referred to Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee. Will be heard in either Monday March 21 or 28. Notice of the hearing is given at least 72 hours in advance.
⇄ 2022 CA Bills To Watch ⇄
A Voice for Choice Advocacy is Actively Watching the following bills. These bills either fall within our mission and currently do not contain language that we support or oppose, but may become an issue if amended, or are bills which are outside of our mission but are of interest because they may affect our advocacy efforts in the future. These may be issues you want to take a stand on personally.
⇄ SB 1018 Misinformation and Disinformation on Online Platforms (Pan) (Spot Bill with no language currently https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB1018): Would require social platforms to publicly disclose how their algorithms work and to share the data for research purposes.
⇄ AB 2516 Health care coverage: HPV (Aguiar-Curry) (https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB2516): Would require a health care service plan contract or health insurance policy to cover the cost of HPV vaccination.
⇄ SB 1479 COVID-19 testing in schools: COVID-19 testing plans (Pan) (https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB1479): Would require each school district, county office of education, and charter school to create a COVID-19 testing plan.
⇄ SB 1296 Viral surveillance program (Pan) (Spot Bill with no language currently https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB1479)
⇄ AB 2539 Public Health: Covid vaccination: proof of status (Choi) (https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB2539): Would require a public or private entity that requires a member of the public to provide documentation regarding the individual’s vaccination status for any COVID-19 vaccine to accept a written medical record or government-issued digital medical record.
⇄ AB1687 California Emergency Services Act: Governor’s powers: suspension of statutes and regulations (Seyarto) (https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB1687): Would require the Governor to only temporarily suspend those statutes, ordinances, regulations, or rules in connection with the specific conditions of emergency proclaimed by the Governor.
⇄ SB 1100 Open meetings: orderly conduct (Cortese) (https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB1100): Would create a warning system and define "willfully interruption of a meeting" to determine when members of the legislative body conducting a meeting could authorize the removal of an individual.
⇄ AB 1795 Open meetings: remote participation (Fong) (https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB1795): Would require state bodies, subject to existing exceptions, to provide all persons the ability to participate both in-person and remotely, as defined, in any meeting and to address the body remotely.
⇄ SB 1464 Law enforcement: public health orders (Pan) (https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB1464): Would require sheriffs and peace officers to enforce all orders of the State Department of Public Health or of the local health officer issued for the purpose of preventing the spread of any contagious, infectious, or communicable disease.
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
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