Final Passage of California Vaccine Bill

At AP, Julia Horowitz reports:

California lawmakers on Monday sent the governor a contentious bill that would impose one of the strictest school vaccination laws in the country after a series of emotionally charged debates.

The Senate reaffirmed the bill striking California's personal belief exemption for immunizations on a 24-14 vote. Mississippi and West Virginia are the only two states with such strict requirements in place.

Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown has not said if he would sign it.

"The governor believes that vaccinations are profoundly important and a major public health benefit, and any bill that reaches his desk will be closely considered," governor's spokesman Evan Westrup has repeated in recent days.

Democratic Sens. Richard Pan of Sacramento and Ben Allen of Santa Monica introduced the measure after an outbreak of measles at Disneyland in December infected over 100 people in the U.S. and Mexico.

"The science remains unequivocal that vaccines are safe, that vaccines save lives," Pan said.

If the bill becomes law, medical exemptions would still be granted to children with serious health issues.