Floor Amendments Rewrote Bill

To the Editor:
I am writing in response to a Feb. 12 letter from Gail Pfeifer. I’d like to share the factual progression of A3818/ S2173 through the New Jersey Legislature during the 2018-2019 legislative cycle. The claim that Sen. Michael Testa had not done his due diligence on this bill, its progression and potential impacts on society, is patently false.
The understanding of the bill by her is incorrect.
S2173 was originally introduced in March 2018 and would severely restrict the religious exemption. Currently, only 2.6% of the state’s children utilize a religious exemption. On Dec 12, 2019, S2173 was amended to remove the religious exemption. Children would be given 180 days to comply with the vaccination schedule or would no longer be allowed to attend school (public, private, or higher education).
The bill was then further amended, Jan. 9, to exclude non-public (private) schools and made it almost impossible to obtain a medical exemption, currently only .2% of children have a medical exemption, among other concerning language. The latest version of the bill, an amended version was even more discriminatory in that those with the means to afford a private education could “buy” their way out of the law.
 On April 5, 2018, A3818, entitled “Clarifies statutory exemptions from mandatory immunization requirements for child care center and school attendance”, was introduced into the Assembly.
On that same day, the bill was heard in the Assembly Health Committee and favorably reported. The fact that the bill was introduced, heard and reported on in the Assembly Health Committee indicates that the bill language was not available prior to that day. As A3818 read on April 5, 2018, a person in New Jersey would still be allowed to utilize a religious exemption to mandatory school vaccinations if they held “bona fide religious tenets or practices” that prohibit the use of vaccination. The Commissioner of Health would have been granted the authority to decide which family’s beliefs were deemed “bona fide.”
This “tightening” of the religious exemption is what was heard and passed out of the Assembly Health Committee  April 5, 2018.
 On Jan. 31, 2019 “floor amendments” were presented by Assemblyman Conway, “These Assembly floor amendments delete a statutory provision that authorizes a religious exemption from mandatory immunization requirements for students in preschools, elementary and secondary schools, and institutions of higher education, as well as language would have established additional requirements to obtain a religious exemption.”
These floor amendments were made as part of a “package” of other amendments and passed with a simple voice vote.
Assembly members had not been made aware that the amendments being made would completely change the language and impact of the bill that had previously passed the Assembly Health Committee the previous year.
Floor amendments are typically changes that have previously been discussed and amount to “clarification” within a bill, not a complete rewrite. This was not the case with A3818.
S2173 and A3818 were written under the veil of protecting public health, however, this legislation will not achieve this goal. Forcing a one-size-fits-all medical policy on everyone will not improve health outcomes. Medical options and permitting doctors to practice true healthcare is what is needed.