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Legislatures have adjourned in more than half of the states and continue to wind down. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures tracker, 19 states remain in session, with seven of those states meeting year-round. The latest count from colleagues at ASTHO indicates that 228 vaccine-related bills were introduced this year, along with a roughly equal number that carried over from last year. Of bills introduced this year, the vast majority are no longer under active consideration – with 61 failing by a vote and most of the rest not considered before adjournment. Twenty-nine bills have been enacted, and about three dozen are still pending and have passed at least one chamber.

AIM’s policy team stands ready to assist as needed for those states still in session. Please contact AIM Chief Policy and Government Relations Officer Brent Ewig for help. Later this summer, AIM will create another full review to provide an overview of state legislative trends.

We continue to see a flurry of vaccine-related legislative activity, especially as many state legislatures rush to adjournment. While most of the AIM reporting has focused on anti-vaccine proposals, we wanted to use this round-up to highlight a small bright spot. Both California and the District of Columbia recently passed legislation that provides paid sick leave for certain covered employees for the time needed to attend vaccination appointments. Information on these bills is available here and here. Finally, as an addendum to the last video on working with coalitions, we wanted to highlight a new organization working to build momentum for pro-vaccine policy and policymakers. The SAFE Communities Coalition was recently formed with a mandate to advocate for pro-science legislation, elect pro-science candidates, and defeat anti-vaccination candidates. More information on their work can be found here.