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UPDATE: 5/18/2024 - HF 5237 was enacted, it was signed into law by Minnesota Governor Tim Walz on 5/18/2024. Effective date varies, the vaccine provisions in the bill are effective the day after enactment on 5/19/2024. Chapter No. 115.
UPDATE: 5/17/2024 - HF 5237 passed the full House as amended in Conference Committee by a vote of 70 Yeas and 58 Nays on 5/17/2024.
UPDATE: 5/17/2024 - HF 5237 Conference Committee report was adopted in the House by a vote of 70 Yeas and 58 Nays.
UPDATE: 5/17/2024 - HF 5237 was read a third time as amended by the Conference Committee and passed the full Senate by a vote of 34 yeas and 33 nays on 5/17/2024.
UPDATE: 5/17/2024 - HF 5237 Conference Committee Report adoption was considered in the Senate. A point of order pertaining to Joint Rule 2.06 was raised by Senator Jordan Rasmusson stating that the Conference Committee Report on HF 5237 was out of order. A point of order is generally raised when there is an action taken by the body that is seemingly not congruent with the body's rules. The motion was put to the body, and the body voted that the point of order was "not well taken." This means that the contest to the committee report was voted down and the Senate then voted to adopt the recommendations of the Conference Committee report by roll call vote of 34 Yeas and 33 Nays.
UPDATE: 5/17/2024 - HF 5237 was gutted and amended in the Conference Committee on 5/17/2024. This means that the contents of the original bill were deleted, and completely new content was proposed. The Conference Committee report recommends that HF 5237 be further amended by deleting everything after the title and the enacting clause and replacing it with entire new bill language.
Based on the new replaced language from 5/17/2024, HF 5237 now removes the requirement that state licensed child care centers accept a conscientious exemption to mandated vaccines for children two months and older. This is a broad education bill that amends many areas of code. The new bill language is summarized as follows:
SECTION 5. under Article 18, Children and Families Policy, amends Minnesota Statutes 2022, Section 121A.15 Subdivision 3, paragraph (d), adding new language that removes the ability for a child attending or enrolling in a child care center or family child care program to claim a conscientious belief exemption from immunization if the child care center or family child care program adopts a policy under Subdivision 3b. of this section to not allow conscientious belief exemptions for children over two (2) months of age. This change can be seen in the green underlined text as follows:
(d) If a notarized statement signed by the minor child's parent or guardian or by the emancipated person is submitted to the administrator or other person having general control and supervision of the school or child care facility stating that the person has not been immunized as prescribed in subdivision 1 because of the conscientiously held beliefs of the parent or guardian of the minor child or of the emancipated person, the immunizations specified in the statement shall not be required. This statement must also be forwarded to the commissioner of the Department of Health. This paragraph does not apply to a child enrolling or enrolled in a child care center or family child care program that adopts a policy under subdivision 3b.
SECTION 6. under Article 18, adds this new Subdivision 3b. related to child care programs referred to in SECTION 5. This new language authorizes a family child care provider licensed under Minnesota Statutes Chapter 245A and Minnesota Rules Chapter 9502 to adopt a policy prohibiting a child over two months of age from enrolling or remaining enrolled in a child care center or family child care program if the child (1) has not been vaccinated in accordance with subdivision 1 or 2 and in accordance with Minnesota Rules Chapter 4604; and (2) is not exempt from vaccinations under subdivision 3, paragraph (a) if the child is seven years old they are not required to take a pertussis vaccine for the first time; (c) if the child has a statement from a physician stating a vaccination is contraindicated; (e) if the child is under 15 months old they are not required to take a measles, mumps, or rubella vaccine for the first time; or (f) if the child is five years old they are not required to take a HIB vaccine for the first time. Exemptions authorized under Subdivision 3. (b) if a person is eighteen years old, they are not required to take a poliomyelitis vaccine for the first time; and (d) if the child has a signed statement from the child's parent or guardian stating that vaccination conflicts with their conscientiously held beliefs, they are not required to take a vaccine are not included in the exemption options for a child over two months attending a child care center or family child care program that adopts this new policy.
Essentially, this change authorizes a child care program to adopt a policy that prohibits children over two (2) months of age to attend with a conscientious belief exemption and also allows the child care program to kick children out who are over two months of age and who were attending the program with a religious or conscientious belief exemption but do not meet the new policy criteria.
If passed, HF 5237 becomes effective the day following final enactment.
NVIC OPPOSES this new amended version of HF 5237 and gives it the following title: "Removes the requirement that licensed child care centers accept a conscientious exemption to mandated vaccines for children two months and older." NVIC does not take a position on areas of this bill unrelated to vaccines.
NVIC OPPOSES the HF 5237 Conference Committee report recommendation because it removes the requirement for a child care center or family care provider to honor a conscientious exemption to vaccinations for all children over two months of age in lieu of vaccinations as a condition of enrollment. A family who depends on this protection of a conscientious exemption option for their child enrolled in child care will be forced to choose between violating their conscientious beliefs and vaccinating their child or sending their child to an unlicensed and unregulated child care facility that may not require proof of vaccination as a condition of enrollment in order to continue to receive care for their child during the day while the parent is working. This change will cause an immense burden for families with children enrolled in child care who exercise the conscientious belief exemption to vaccine requirements in the state. Effective immediately, these children may be kicked out of their daycare centers and their families may be forced to use an unlicensed child care option if their facility chooses to adopt the new program provided for in this bill. By removing the requirement that the child care centers must accept conscientious belief exemptions to vaccination and giving the child care providers the option to adopt a policy allowing them to refuse enrollment or continued enrollment to families with conscientious belief objections to vaccination, the state is effectively removing the option for a conscientious exemption to vaccinations protected by the state for all children over two months of age in lieu of vaccinations as a condition of enrollment.
This bill leaves children and families with only one remaining vaccine exemption option in the state under Minnesota Statutes §121A.15, Subdivision 3. (c) that provides an exemption from school or child care required vaccines if the child has a signed statement by a physician stating that a vaccine is contraindicated or medical reasons or that lab tests confirm the presence of adequate immunity to the disease in question. Medical exemptions are historically difficult to obtain and many children who are vaccine injured and could lose their life if they were to be vaccinated again are forced to rely on conscientious or religious exemptions to vaccination as they are unable to find a doctor who is willing to write a medical exemption. Physicians are rarely trained to recognize vaccine reactions and injuries and often deny the vaccine is the cause of the child's adverse health event. If passed, this bill is also effectively making parents choose between leaving their child at a potentially unsafe and unlicensed child care facility or violating their religious and conscientious beliefs by vaccinating their child with an unavoidably unsafe pharmaceutical product with known and unknown associated adverse events. NVIC does not take a position on the provisions in this bill that are unrelated to vaccination.
NVIC opposes all vaccine mandates as all vaccines are pharmaceutical products that carry a risk of injury and even death. As of May 1, 2024, The United States Government has paid out more than $5 billion dollars to vaccine victims through the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP). As of May 23, 2024, there were 47,847 deaths and 2,602,082 adverse events reported to the US government run Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS). Vaccination should never be a condition of child care or school enrollment. NVIC supports informed consent to vaccination, which includes the right to refuse a vaccine without coercion, harassment, or penalty.
UPDATE: 5/9/2024 - HF 5237 conference committee request by the House was acceded to by the Senate and the Senate appointed conferees Kunesh, Cwodzinski, Gustafson, Maye Quade, and Boldon on 5/9/2024.
UPDATE: 5/7/2024 - HF 5237 was returned to the House from the Senate with amendment and the House refused to concur with Senate changes to the bill on 5/7/2024. The House requested a conference committee of five and appointed conferees Youakim, Clardy, Edelson, Sencer-Mura, and Kresha.
UPDATE: 5/6/2024 - HF 5237 was amended on the Senate floor and passed the full Senate as amended by a vote of 34 Yeas and 30 Nays on 5/6/2024. View the amendment and the vote on the Senate Journal entry HERE. This amendment adds a new Section 9. related to safe schools transparency and renumbers the sections in sequence. NVIC does not take a position on this amended version of the bill as it is unrelated to vaccination.
UPDATE: 5/2/2024 - HF 5237 was substituted with the text of SF 5252 as recommended by the Senate Rules and Administration Committee and reported to the Senate on 5/2/2024. View the Senate Journal entry HERE. The committee recommended that all text after the enacting clause of HF 5237 be stricken and the text from SF 5252 after the enacting clause be added. SF 5252 was voted to be indefinitely postponed on 5/2/2024. This substitute bill is an omnibus education appropriations bill. NVIC does not take a position on this substitute version as it is unrelated to vaccination.
UPDATE: 5/1/2024 - HF 5237 was received in the Senate and referred to the Senate Rules and Administration Committee on 5/1/2024.
UPDATE: 4/30/2024 - HF 5237 passed the full House as amended by a vote of 68 Yeas and 61 Nays on 4/30/2024.
UPDATE: 4/30/2024 - HF 5237 was amended on the House floor with amendment H5237A34 to include education appropriations on 4/30/2024. View the House Journal entry with amendments described HERE. NVIC does not take a position on this amendment as it is unrelated to vaccination.
UPDATE: 4/26/2024 - HF 5237 was reported by the House Ways and Means Committee to adopt as amended by Amendment H5237A3, and the report was adopted on the House floor on 4/26/2024. View the House Journal entry HERE.
UPDATE: 4/25/2024 - HF 5237 was amended by Amendment H5237A3 in the House Ways and Means Committee by a voice vote on 4/25/2024. View the committee meeting minutes HERE. This amendment inserts a new section that amends Minnesota Statutes 2023 Supplement, §124D.165 subdivisions 3 and 6 related to early learning scholarships. NVIC does not take a position on this amendment as it is unrelated to vaccination.
UPDATE: 4/19/2024 - HF 5237 was voted by the House Taxes Committee to be moved to the House Ways and Means Committee by a voice vote on 4/19/2024. View the committee meeting minutes HERE.
UPDATE: 4/19/2024 - HF 5237 is scheduled for a hearing in the House Taxes Committee on Friday, April 19, 2024, at 1:00 PM in Room 5 of the State Office Building. View the hearing agenda HERE.
UPDATE: 4/18/2024 - HF 5237 was reported from the House Education Finance Committee to adopt as amended and re-refer to the House Taxes Committee on 4/18/2024. View the House Journal entry HERE. This suggested amendment strikes everything after the enacting clause and inserts new language to amend Minnesota Statutes 2022 §120A.41 related to the length of school year; hours of instruction, to remove the exception of required school hours for children with disabilities. NVIC does not take a position on this amendment as it is unrelated to vaccination.
The initially filed HF 5237 was introduced in the House and referred to the House Education Finance Committee on 4/2/2024. This bill is authored by Representative Cheryl Youakim and Representatives Edelson, Jordan, Clardy, Greenman, Sencer-Mura, Pursell, Hill, and Pinto.
The introduced version of HF 5237 was an education supplemental budget bill that amended Minnesota Statutes related to educational appropriations including supplemental funding for prekindergarten through grade 12 education.
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