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Senate panel hears broad testimony for and against tightening state vaccine‑mandate standards in HB 679
Summary
Representative Kelly Potenza told the committee House Bill 679 would limit school and childcare vaccine mandates to immunizations that prevent transmission; supporters argued for parental choice and constitutional limits on mandates, while medical societies, nurses, DHHS epidemiologists and pediatricians urged the committee to oppose the change,
Representative Kelly Potenza, sponsor of House Bill 679, told the Senate Health and Human Services Committee she is proposing a narrower legal test for when the state may require vaccines for school and childcare entry: the bill would limit mandates to vaccines “that prevent transmission of disease,” and she argued vaccines that do not block transmission should be left to parental decision.
Nut graf: The hearing drew an extended, partisan and technical debate. Supporters framed HB 679 as a protection of parental choice and a clarification of constitutional limits on public‑health mandates; medical organizations, public‑health officials and many clinicians warned the change would weaken herd protections, put federal child‑care funding at risk and make New Hampshire an outlier.
Supporters’ testimony: Representative…
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