Connecticut lawmakers will again consider a controversial bill that would get rid of religious exemptions from vaccinations for schoolchildren. State Rep. Jonathan Steinberg of Westport is co-chair of the Public Health Committee. He says the bill would allow for medical exemptions and promises that a draft will soon be available.
“We are going to give this a few more days or so to put something forward that everybody can take a look at. And therefore there will be no confusion,” he said. “There will be pretty much clarity.”
Steinberg says the committee would then schedule an online public hearing.
A similar bill was considered last year but failed to make it out of committee. It attracted more than 24 hours of public testimony. Opponents had argued that the bill would infringe on their religious rights.
Rep. Anne Dauphinais of Killingly is a Republican member of the committee. She’s skeptical that much new testimony would be forthcoming.
“So what is this committee looking to hear this time that it did not hear last February?” she asked.
