HOUSE BILL 1156
By Lynn
SENATE BILL 1030
By Bowling
SB1030
002689
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AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 37,
relative to immunizations.
WHEREAS, Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 37-10-401(a) declares that a parent or
legal guardian is responsible for ensuring that such person's child receives vaccinations as
recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or the American
Academy of Pediatrics (AAP); and
WHEREAS, the CDC is a federal agency that operates under federal jurisdiction, not
subject to state government oversight or accountability, and the AAP is a private organization,
not subject to constitutional accountability or state government oversight and accountability; and
WHEREAS, under the nondelegation doctrine, the General Assembly cannot delegate
significant public policy decisions or police powers to entities that are not subject to state
oversight and accountability; and
WHEREAS, the landmark case Jacobson v. Massachusetts, 25 S.CT. 358 (1905)
affirmed that state vaccination laws are not subject to federal jurisdiction under the Fourteenth
Amendment to the Constitution of the United States but are instead an exercise of state police
power if and when authorized under a state's constitution; and
WHEREAS, legislative oversight and the rulemaking process are necessary when
changing vaccination law to ensure such changes serve a compelling governmental interest of
the highest order; and
WHEREAS, the Families' Rights and Responsibilities Act, compiled in Tennessee Code
Annotated, Title 36, Chapter 8, affirms that a government entity shall not substantially burden
the fundamental rights of a parent unless it demonstrates that such a burden is required by a
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compelling governmental interest of the highest order and is the least restrictive means of
furthering that interest; and
WHEREAS, deleting ยง 37-10-401(a) will not affect existing immunization laws, rules, or
requirements for schools, nurseries, kindergartens, preschools, or child care facilities; now,
therefore,
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 37-10-401(a), is amended by
deleting the subsection.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.