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HOUSE BILL NO. 266
IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE - SECOND SESSION
BY REPRESENTATIVES EASTMAN, Kurka
Introduced: 1/18/22
Referred: Health and Social Services, Judiciary, Finance
A BILL
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED
1 "An Act relating to vaccines and vaccinations; relating to pharmacists and other health
2 care providers; relating to health care insurers; relating to schools; relating to the Board
3 of Pharmacy; relating to the Department of Education and Early Development; relating
4 to the Department of Health and Social Services; relating to unfair trade practices; and
5 providing for an effective date."
6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:
7 * Section 1. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section
8 to read:
9 SHORT TITLE. This Act may be known as the Vaccine Consumer Protection Act of
10 2022.
11 * Sec. 2. AS 08.80.030(b) is amended to read:
12 (b) In order to fulfill its responsibilities, the board has the powers necessary
13 for implementation and enforcement of this chapter, including the power to
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1 (1) elect a president and secretary from its membership and adopt rules
2 for the conduct of its business;
3 (2) license by examination or by license transfer the applicants who are
4 qualified to engage in the practice of pharmacy;
5 (3) assist the department in inspections and investigations for
6 violations of this chapter, or of any other state or federal statute relating to the practice
7 of pharmacy;
8 (4) adopt regulations to carry out the purposes of this chapter;
9 (5) establish and enforce compliance with professional standards and
10 rules of conduct for pharmacists engaged in the practice of pharmacy;
11 (6) determine standards for recognition and approval of degree
12 programs of schools and colleges of pharmacy whose graduates shall be eligible for
13 licensure in this state, including the specification and enforcement of requirements for
14 practical training, including internships;
15 (7) establish for pharmacists and pharmacies minimum specifications
16 for the physical facilities, technical equipment, personnel, and procedures for the
17 storage, compounding, and dispensing of drugs or related devices, and for the
18 monitoring of drug therapy;
19 (8) enforce the provisions of this chapter relating to the conduct or
20 competence of pharmacists practicing in the state, and the suspension, revocation, or
21 restriction of licenses to engage in the practice of pharmacy;
22 (9) license and regulate the training, qualifications, and employment of
23 pharmacy interns and pharmacy technicians;
24 (10) issue licenses to persons engaged in the manufacture and
25 distribution of drugs and related devices;
26 (11) establish and maintain a controlled substance prescription
27 database as provided in AS 17.30.200;
28 (12) establish standards for the independent administration by a
29 pharmacist of vaccines and related emergency medications under AS 08.80.168,
30 including the completion of an immunization training program approved by the board
31 and compliance with AS 18.15.500 - 18.15.600;
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1 (13) establish standards for the independent dispensing by a
2 pharmacist of an opioid overdose drug under AS 17.20.085, including the completion
3 of an opioid overdose training program approved by the board;
4 (14) require that a licensed pharmacist register with the controlled
5 substance prescription database under AS 17.30.200(n);
6 (15) establish the qualifications and duties of the executive
7 administrator and delegate authority to the executive administrator that is necessary to
8 conduct board business;
9 (16) license and inspect the facilities of wholesale drug distributors,
10 third-party logistics providers, and outsourcing facilities located outside the state
11 under AS 08.80.159.
12 * Sec. 3. AS 08.80.480 is amended by adding a new paragraph to read:
13 (40) "vaccine" has the meaning given in AS 18.15.600.
14 * Sec. 4. AS 09.65 is amended by adding a new section to read:
15 Sec. 09.65.360. Liability for disclosure of vaccination status. (a) A person
16 who learns whether an individual has been vaccinated against novel coronavirus
17 disease (COVID-19) and discloses that information to a third party is liable to the
18 individual for damages caused by the loss of privacy.
19 (b) A person who, in violation of AS 11.41.530, coerces an individual to
20 disclose whether the individual has been vaccinated against COVID-19 is liable for
21 damages.
22 * Sec. 5. AS 14.07.020(a) is amended to read:
23 (a) The department shall
24 (1) exercise general supervision over the public schools of the state
25 except the University of Alaska;
26 (2) study the conditions and needs of the public schools of the state,
27 adopt or recommend plans, administer and evaluate grants to improve school
28 performance awarded under AS 14.03.125, and adopt regulations for the improvement
29 of the public schools; the department may consult with the University of Alaska to
30 develop secondary education requirements to improve student achievement in college
31 preparatory courses;
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1 (3) provide advisory and consultative services to all public school
2 governing bodies and personnel;
3 (4) prescribe by regulation a minimum course of study for the public
4 schools; the regulations must provide that, if a course in American Sign Language is
5 given, the course shall be given credit as a course in a foreign language;
6 (5) establish, in coordination with the Department of Health and Social
7 Services, a program for the continuing education of children who are held in juvenile
8 detention facilities or juvenile treatment facilities, as those terms are defined in
9 AS 47.12.990, in the state during the period of detention or treatment;
10 (6) accredit those public schools that meet accreditation standards
11 prescribed by regulation by the department; these regulations shall be adopted by the
12 department and presented to the legislature during the first 10 days of any regular
13 session, and become effective 45 days after presentation or at the end of the session,
14 whichever is earlier, unless disapproved by a resolution concurred in by a majority of
15 the members of each house;
16 (7) prescribe by regulation, after consultation with the state fire
17 marshal and the state sanitarian, standards that will ensure healthful and safe
18 conditions in the public and private schools of the state, including a requirement of
19 physical examinations and, subject to AS 18.15.560 and 18.15.590(b),
20 immunizations in pre-elementary schools; the standards for private schools may not be
21 more stringent than those for public schools;
22 (8) exercise general supervision over pre-elementary schools that
23 receive direct state or federal funding;
24 (9) exercise general supervision over elementary and secondary
25 correspondence study programs offered by municipal school districts or regional
26 educational attendance areas; the department may also offer and make available to any
27 Alaskan through a centralized office a correspondence study program;
28 (10) accredit private schools that request accreditation and that meet
29 accreditation standards prescribed by regulation by the department; nothing in this
30 paragraph authorizes the department to require religious or other private schools to be
31 licensed;
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1 (11) review plans for construction of new public elementary and
2 secondary schools and for additions to and major rehabilitation of existing public
3 elementary and secondary schools and, in accordance with regulations adopted by the
4 department, determine and approve the extent of eligibility for state aid of a school
5 construction or major maintenance project; for the purposes of this paragraph, "plans"
6 include educational specifications, schematic designs, projected energy consumption
7 and costs, and final contract documents;
8 (12) provide educational opportunities in the areas of vocational
9 education and training, and basic education to individuals over 16 years of age who
10 are no longer attending school; the department may consult with businesses and labor
11 unions to develop a program to prepare students for apprenticeships or internships that
12 will lead to employment opportunities;
13 (13) administer the grants awarded under AS 14.11;
14 (14) establish, in coordination with the Department of Public Safety, a
15 school bus driver training course;
16 (15) require the reporting of information relating to school disciplinary
17 and safety programs under AS 14.33.120 and of incidents of disruptive or violent
18 behavior;
19 (16) establish by regulation criteria, based on low student performance,
20 under which the department may intervene in a school district to improve instructional
21 practices, as described in AS 14.07.030(a)(14) or (15); the regulations must include
22 (A) a notice provision that alerts the district to the deficiencies
23 and the instructional practice changes proposed by the department;
24 (B) an end date for departmental intervention, as described in
25 AS 14.07.030(a)(14)(A) and (B) and (15), after the district demonstrates three
26 consecutive years of improvement consisting of not less than two percent
27 increases in student proficiency on standards-based assessments in language
28 arts and mathematics, as provided in AS 14.03.123(f)(1)(A); and
29 (C) a process for districts to petition the department for
30 continuing or discontinuing the department's intervention;
31 (17) notify the legislative committees having jurisdiction over
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1 education before intervening in a school district under AS 14.07.030(a)(14) or
2 redirecting public school funding under AS 14.07.030(a)(15).
3 * Sec. 6. AS 14.30.125 is amended to read:
4 Sec. 14.30.125. Immunization. If, in the judgment of the commissioner of
5 health and social services, it is necessary for the welfare of the children or the general
6 public in an area, the governing body of the school district may [SHALL] require the
7 children attending school in that area to be immunized, subject to AS 18.15.560 and
8 18.15.590(b), against the diseases the commissioner of health and social services may
9 specify.
10 * Sec. 7. AS 18.09.990(11) is repealed and reenacted to read:
11 (11) "vaccine" has the meaning given in AS 18.15.600.
12 * Sec. 8. AS 18.15.360 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
13 (e) The department shall adopt regulations creating a screening checklist of
14 contraindications for vaccines for patients who are under 18 years of age. The
15 checklist must include questions concerning the patient's current health status,
16 allergies, previous vaccinations, serious adverse reactions to vaccines, long-term
17 health issues, family history of seizures and brain or nervous disorders, family
18 members who have experienced an adverse reaction to a vaccine, and immune system
19 problems or family history of immune system problems. In this subsection,
20 "vaccination" and "vaccine" have the meanings given in AS 18.15.600.
21 * Sec. 9. AS 18.15 is amended by adding new sections to read:
22 Article 7A. Vaccines and Vaccinations.
23 Sec. 18.15.500. Information on vaccine. (a) A health care provider or health
24 care facility that recommends or administers a vaccine to a patient shall, before
25 administering the vaccine, provide to the patient or, if the patient is a minor, to the
26 patient's parent or guardian information that identifies the risks and benefits of the
27 vaccine based on the patient's health record and the right of the patient or, if the
28 patient is a minor, the patient's parent or guardian to accept or refuse the vaccine.
29 (b) The information provided under (a) of this section must be in writing, must
30 be signed by the patient or, if the patient is a minor, the patient's parent or guardian
31 and must include
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1 (1) the name and manufacturer of the vaccine;
2 (2) the ingredients of the vaccine, including adjuvants and excipients;
3 in this paragraph,
4 (A) "adjuvant" means a substance that enhances the
5 pharmacological effect of a drug or increases the ability of an antigen to
6 stimulate the immune system;
7 (B) "excipient" means an ingredient that is intentionally added
8 to a drug for a purpose other than the therapeutic or diagnostic effect at the
9 intended dose;
10 (3) the Internet website of the manufacturer for access to the vaccine
11 manufacturer's product insert for disclosed contraindications and adverse events and
12 any related information;
13 (4) the Internet website of the United States Health Resources and
14 Services Administration for access to the vaccine injury compensation program and
15 the vaccine injury table and information regarding reports of adverse effects and
16 recalls of vaccines;
17 (5) the Internet website of the United States Food and Drug
18 Administration for access to vaccine recall information;
19 (6) information regarding patient exemption rights, including the right
20 to an exemption from a vaccination for a medical, personal, religious, or other reason;
21 (7) information regarding rights concerning vaccination data collection
22 by the department;
23 (8) information regarding limitations on liability for a person who
24 administers a vaccine;
25 (9) information regarding incentives received by the health care
26 provider or health care facility related to vaccination services;
27 (10) information regarding the risks of contracting the disease or
28 illness for which the vaccine is given;
29 (11) the name, manufacturer, and ingredients of any vaccine scheduled
30 to be administered to the patient at a future appointment; and
31 (12) a notification of any potential right of action the patient may