Legislative Alert: Action Needed – OHIO VACCINE BILL

May 24, 2021

Legislative Alert: Action Needed – OHIO VACCINE BILL

Sub. H.B. 248 (underlined language is proposed NEW law)

This bill would revise and enact Ohio law to “prohibit mandatory vaccinations and vaccination status disclosures” among other details.

Primary sponsor: State Representative Jennifer Gross

A hearing for proponent testimony is scheduled for Tuesday, May 25th, 2021 at 10AM
Ohio Statehouse, Room 121

Key Details:

  • Prohibits businesses, government agencies, schools (public or private, including colleges), public officials, day care centers, nursing homes, and employers from requiring individuals to receive a vaccine.
  • Prohibits the same entities above from requiring individuals to disclose their vaccine status or participate in a vaccine registry (i.e. vaccine passport)
  • Prohibits the same entities above from discriminating against or penalizing individuals who decline to receive a vaccine or decline to participate in a vaccine registry (i.e. vaccine passport)
  • Prohibits state and local health orders from being issued that violate these provisions.
  • K-12 public schools have a vaccine opt-out provision in current law. This bill requires schools to inform parents they can opt out.

In essence this bill allows individuals to make this health care decision without coercion and provides that medical privacy is honored.

ACTION NEEDED:

  1. Please contact your own State Representative and ask him/her to support Substitute HB 248. You can determine who represents you at this link.
  2. Consider submitting written testimony to the Health Committee at the proponent hearing, especially if you have already been required to take the vaccine to avoid discriminating treatment or denial of services as a consumer.
  3. Complete a witness form*. Fill it out as a separate document from your printed testimony and submit it with your testimony to the Health Committee Chair P. Scott Lipps by end of day on Monday, May 24th, 2021. Please keep your remarks to less than two pages. Here is his email address to use for submitting your testimony: rep62@ohiohouse.gov
  4. You can choose to verbally present your testimony in person before the committee or simply submit it in written form only. If you present in person the members of the committee will be able to ask you questions if your viewpoint needs to be clarified.

*Note: You are not required to fill in every piece of information on the witness form. It is a public document. For example, if you don’t want to publicly disclose your home address, leave it blank. At a minimum fill in your name, contact # or email address and identify your position as proponent (in favor) of Sub. HB248.