Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez Kills DeSantis Vaccine Mandate Repeal Bill
Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez refused to consider Gov. Ron DeSantis' bill that would have loosened vaccine requirements for schoolchildren. Perez said he was worried about kids going to school without vaccines for measles, mumps, polio, and chickenpox that have worked for decades.
Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez killed Gov. Ron DeSantis' proposal to weaken vaccine mandates for schoolchildren on the first day of a special legislative session Tuesday.
Perez cited concerns about children attending school without vaccines for measles, mumps, polio, and chickenpox that have been protecting kids for decades. The House version of the bill, also called the "medical freedom" bill, never made it to committee and died.
The bill would have allowed the Florida Department of Health to discipline healthcare providers who recommend certain vaccines. It was part of DeSantis' broader push against vaccine requirements that started during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This marks a rare split between DeSantis and his own party's legislative leaders. Perez also refused to consider DeSantis' artificial intelligence regulation bill during the four-day special session.
Florida currently requires vaccines for diseases like measles, mumps, and polio for children to attend public schools, with some medical exemptions allowed.
This affects whether your kids need certain vaccines to attend Florida schools. The current rules require vaccines that prevent serious diseases like measles and polio from spreading in classrooms.
The special session continues for three more days, but the vaccine bill appears dead for this session.
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