Colorado Senate passes bill to promote immunization access, 20-12

The Colorado Senate passed Senate Bill 32 on third reading, 20-12, after floor debate in which sponsor Senator Dorian Mullica framed the measure as a science-based step to protect public health and preserve access to vaccines.

"Science matters," Mullica said on the floor, arguing that "vaccines are safe and effective. They've saved millions of lives." He said the bill is a response to "dysfunction coming out of Washington, DC" and would "insulate ourselves as a state" by preserving the ability of pharmacists and other providers to deliver vaccines if federal schedules change. Mullica listed endorsements from medical groups and professional associations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Colorado Pharmacist Society.

Supporters said the bill aims to maintain stable, local access to immunizations and to reduce rhetoric-driven changes to vaccine policy. Opponents recorded no votes during the tally; the clerk announced a final count of 20 ayes, 12 no, 0 absent and 3 excused. Senators recorded on the no list in the transcript included Kirkmeyer, Frizzell, Zamora Wilson, Rich, Pelton B, Bright, Carson, Pelton R, Catlin and Baisley.

Mullica urged colleagues to "start turning down the temperature" around public-health debate and to rely on clinicians' judgment: "Go ask your doctor. Go ask your pharmacist, and they'll tell you the same thing." The bill as passed will proceed in the legislative process following third-reading passage; further procedural steps were not specified on the record.

Senate Bill 32 drew sustained floor attention during this session, with back-and-forth consideration limited to remarks from the sponsor and the standard roll-call procedure for final passage.