Mandatory vaccine bill goes to Governor Brown's desk

The controversial bill that would give California one of the country's strictest vaccination laws headed on Monday to Gov. Jerry Brown's desk, with supporters urging him to sign it and opponents promising to stand vigil around the clock to convince him to veto it.

On Monday, a majority of the California state Senate again passed Senate Bill 277, incendiary legislation that would require almost all schoolchildren to be fully vaccinated in order to attend public or private school, regardless of their parents' personal or religious beliefs.

The only exception would be for medical reasons.

Despite continued objection from Senate colleagues who have called the bill an overreach by the government, the Senate voted 24 to 14 to approve a handful of amendments added to the bill this month in the state Assembly, which passed the bill last week.

Brown has 12 days to act on legislation once it lands on his desk, if that occurs before the legislature's interim recess in July. He can veto it, sign it or do nothing and it becomes law. Since the 12th day lands on the weekend of July 11, under statute, the deadline is pushed to the next non-holiday business day, in this case July 13.

"The science remains unequivocal that vaccines are safe and vaccines save lives," Sen. Richard Pan, D-Sacramento, one of the bill's co-authors, told his colleagues Monday before they voted.

Still, hundreds of opponents who during the past few months have swarmed the Capitol, decrying the bill at legislative hearings because they say it violates their parental rights, aren't giving up. On Monday, they were scheduled to deliver at least 50,000 signed petitions asking Brown to veto the law.

Several celebrities, including actresses Kirstie Alley, Selma Blair and Jenna Elfman, weighed in with their opposition to the bill on Twitter.

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