Vaccine Legislation in Texas and the Rise of the State Anti-Vaccine Movement
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Author(s)
Sarah Lasater
Research Assistant, Center for Health and Biosciences, Baker InstituteRekha Lakshmanan
Nonresident Scholar, Center for Health and BiosciencesKirstin R.W. Matthews
Fellow in Science and Technology PolicyShare this Publication
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Sarah E. Lasater Rekha Lakshmanan Kirstin R.W. Matthews, Ph.D. “Vaccine Legislation in Texas and the Rise of the State Anti-Vaccine Movement: A Survey of Vaccine-Related Bills Filed and Passed in the Texas State Legislature from 2009 to 2019”
Over the past decade, anti-vaccine rhetoric and activity have increased in the United States, resulting in decreased vaccination rates and more frequent outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases. In this study, researchers use Texas as a case study to determine if vaccine-related legislation became a partisan issue between 2009 and 2019.
Read a summary of the study below, or download the full paper on the left-hand sidebar.
Purpose
- The goal of this paper was to assess whether vaccine policies have moved from being a public health issue to a partisan issue in Texas over the last decade.
- The authors reviewed and analyzed vaccine-related bills filed and passed in the 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, and 2019 Texas legislative regular sessions.
Results
- Between 2009 and 2014, 104 vaccine-related bills were filed; 31 received floor votes, and 21 passed (a 20% passing rate, similar to the overall passing rate in each legislative session).
- Most bills that passed had bipartisan support (13), followed by seven that were sponsored only by Republicans, and just one that was sponsored exclusively by Democrats.
- Most bills that passed were neutral in content (10), followed by nine pro-vaccine bills, and only two anti-vaccine bills.
- While more Republicans filed anti-vaccine bills (13) compared to Democrats, they also filed just as many pro-vaccine bills (13) and eight neutral bills.
- Most bills that passed were related to vaccine information, the Texas Immunization Registry, or vaccine availability and access.
- There were no strictly pro- or anti-vaccine hotspots in Texas.
- Floor votes did not trend along party lines.
Conclusions
- Vaccine policies do not seem to be a partisan issue in the Texas Legislature.
- Bipartisan sponsorship helped improve the chances of bills being passed.
- Neutral and pro-vaccine bills were passed, but bills on divisive issues, such as non-medical exemptions, were more challenging to pass.
For more information on vaccine policy and Baker Institute research, email stpolicy@rice.edu.
This material may be quoted or reproduced without prior permission, provided appropriate credit is given to the author and Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. The views expressed herein are those of the individual author(s), and do not necessarily represent the views of Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.