Bill says Ky. public employees, students don’t have to disclose COVID vaccine status
A bill barring public entities from requiring employees or students to disclose whether or not they’re vaccinated against COVID-19 passed out of committee on Tuesday with strong Republican support.
House Bill 28 is sponsored by Rep. Savannah Maddox, R-Dry Ridge, and in addition to disallowing disclosure requirements, also bans all public entities including public schools from taking “adverse action” against people who do not disclose their COVID-19 vaccination status.
It also includes provisions that disallow such entities from requiring “standardized documentation” of their COVID-19 vaccination status – including “vaccine passports” – and adds children of parents or guardians who object to getting their child vaccinated against the virus as exempt from any vaccination requirements.
A previous version of the bill would have barred private employers from requiring employees to disclose their vaccination status, but that provision was defeated in intra-caucus discussions about the piece of legislation, Maddox said.
“HB 28 was designed to ensure that everyone had the ability to decide for themselves whether or not to receive a vaccine, without any type of undue influence from their employer or government or any other type of entity. But in the context of discussions over the course of the past few months… the provisions around private employers did not have sufficient support within the caucus to pass that way.”
Maddox said she would have preferred to see her original bill passed out of committee, but that “this is how the legislative process works.”
Governmental entities would face fines of up to $1,000 per day and public universities’ funding could be put in jeopardy for noncompliance.
Maddox pointed out that the novel portion in the parental “opt out” provision of the bill was the codification of parents or guardians being allowed to opt out of COVID-19 vaccinations “on the basis of conscientiously held beliefs” as opposed to only medical or religious reasons.
Representatives from organizations that would be affected by the bill largely spoke against it on Tuesday.
“Local officials are in the best position to make local decisions,” J.D. Chaney, Executive Director of the Kentucky League of Cities said.
Chaney noted that his organization stood opposed to proposed vaccine mandates from President Joe Biden’s administration, so they have remained consistent regardless of which side of the political aisle the pressure is coming from.
Rep. Pamela Stevenson, D-Louisville, bemoaned the affect that the bill could have on organizations looking to limit the spread of COVID-19, which has contributed to the deaths of over 14,000 Kentuckians.
“If the government is responsible for protecting Kentuckians, what are they to do when we’re in such a thing as a pandemic?” Stevenson asked. “... How do you protect the community from a pandemic if you’re not allowed to ask the question?”
Jason Hall, Executive Director of the Catholic Conference of Kentucky, spoke in opposition of a portion of the bill that placed the same limitations on nonprofits.
Maddox said that the issue was only just brought to her attention on Tuesday and indicated that it would be taken out.
A number of Republicans expressed support, in a party line vote that sent the bill to the House floor, contingent upon the language regarding nonprofits getting fixed.
This story was originally published March 8, 2022 at 5:47 PM.
