An Act To Establish the Vaccine Consumer Protection Program within the Department of Health and Human Services
Maine Legislature, Session 128, LD 1303
Committee: Health and Human Services
Sponsors: O'CONNOR, SANDERSON, SIROCKI
Amends: 20-A MRSA §6353, 20-A MRSA §6355, 20-A MRSA §6357, 20-A MRSA §6358, 20-A MRSA §6359, 22 MRSA §1067

Legislative Document
No. 1303
H.P. 900
House of Representatives, April 4, 2017
An Act To Establish the Vaccine Consumer Protection Program 
within the Department of Health and Human Services
Reference to the Committee on Health and Human Services suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative O'CONNOR of Berwick.
Cosponsored by Representatives: SANDERSON of Chelsea, SIROCKI of Scarborough.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  20-A MRSA §6353, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2001, c. 326, §1, is 
further amended to read: 
3.  Disease.  "Disease" means those conditions that are preventable by immunizing 
agent, as specified in rules. 
Sec. 2.  20-A MRSA §6355, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2001, c. 326, §2, is 
further amended to read: 
2.  Medical exemption.  The parent or the child provides a physician's written 
statement that immunization against one or more of the diseases may be medically 
inadvisable as determined by the physician. 
Sec. 3.  20-A MRSA §6357, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 1983, c. 661, §8 and 
amended by PL 2003, c. 689, Pt. B, §6, is further amended to read: 
2.  Annual report of immunization status.  By December 15th of each year, each 
superintendent shall submit to the Director of the Bureau of Health, Department of Health 
and Human Services, and to the commissioner a summary report of immunization status 
of the children entering school, as prescribed by rule. 
Sec. 4.  20-A MRSA §6358, as amended by PL 2001, c. 326, §3 and PL 2003, c. 
689, Pt. B, §6, is repealed. 
Sec. 5.  20-A MRSA §6359, sub-§1, ¶C, as amended by PL 2001, c. 326, §4, is 
further amended to read: 
C.  "Disease" means those conditions that are preventable by immunizing agent, as 
specified in rules. 
Sec. 6.  20-A MRSA §6359, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2001, c. 326, §5 and PL 
2003, c. 689, Pt. B, §6, is further amended to read: 
2.  Immunization.  Except as otherwise provided under this section, every student 
shall have must be administered an adequate dosage of an immunizing agent against each 
disease as specified by rule. 
Any such immunizing agent shall must meet standards for the biological products, 
approved by the United States Public Health Service and the dosage requirement 
specified by the Department of Health and Human Services. 
Sec. 7.  20-A MRSA §6359, sub-§5, as enacted by PL 1985, c. 771, §§2 and 7, is 
amended to read: 
5.  Records; report.  Each chief administrative officer shall keep uniform records of 
the immunizations and immunization status of each student, based on the certificate of 
immunization, other acceptable evidence and other available documents.  The records 
shall must be part of the student's permanent records. 
By December 15th of each year, each chief administrative officer shall submit to the 
Director of the Bureau of Health a summary report of immunization status of the students 
entering school, as prescribed by rule.  A blank summary report form will must be 
provided to each chief administrative officer by the Bureau of Health. 
Sec. 8.  20-A MRSA §6359, sub-§6, as amended by PL 1991, c. 146, §4, is 
repealed. 
Sec. 9.  22 MRSA §1067 is enacted to read: 
§1067.  Vaccine Consumer Protection Program 
1.  Definitions.  As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following terms have the following meanings. 
A.  "Health care provider" means a physician, nurse, clinic, hospital or other entity 
licensed by this State to provide health care services that administers vaccines. 
B.  "Office" means the Vaccine Consumer Protection Office established in this 
section. 
C.  "Program" means the Vaccine Consumer Protection Program established in this 
section. 
D.  "Vaccine injury table" means the vaccine injury table of covered vaccines and 
associated injuries established by 42 Code of Federal Regulations, Section 100.3 
(2000). 
2.  Program and office established.  The Vaccine Consumer Protection Program is 
established within the department.  The Vaccine Consumer Protection Office is 
established within the department to carry out the purposes of the program. 
3.  Services.  Under the program, the office shall provide information about vaccine 
injuries and immunizations to health care providers and the public. 
The office shall establish and implement procedures to: 
A.  Promote public awareness of the vaccine injury table through development and 
implementation of an educational outreach program that provides, at a minimum, the 
information contained in the vaccine injury table to any individual in the State who 
requests information related to vaccine injuries or immunizations; 
B.  Educate health care providers on the contents of the vaccine injury table to help 
providers better screen for and diagnose adverse events caused by vaccines; 
C.  Require health care providers to use vaccine package inserts that describe the 
warnings, precautions and adverse reactions potentially caused by a particular 
vaccine during the screening and diagnosing of an illness, disability, injury or adverse 
condition caused by vaccines; 
D.  Write and publicize a vaccine information statement.  The statement must include 
evidence-based information about vaccines and their potentially adverse side effects, 
inform patients about their right to opt out of vaccine requirements based on religious 
and philosophical grounds and offer a step-by-step explanation about how to pursue 
legal recourse if an individual suspects a vaccine injury has occurred.  When drafting 
the statement, the department shall consult with nationally recognized vaccine safety 
advocates and the families of children in the State who have been injured by 
vaccines; 
E.  Investigate potential vaccine injuries; 
F.  Evaluate vaccine injury claims; 
G.  Review instances of potential coercion by health care providers related to the 
issuance of a vaccine and require health care providers who are suspected of coercion 
to retract any inaccurate statements or face discipline by the applicable professional 
licensing entity; 
H.  Educate health care providers about the processes for handling vaccine injury 
claims that are brought against their practice; 
I.  Provide individuals with referrals to health care providers that treat vaccine 
injuries and to attorneys that handle claims related to vaccine injuries; and 
J.  Recoup funds that are spent on vaccine injury cases under the MaineCare program 
established under chapter 855. 
4.  Rules.  The department shall adopt rules to implement this section.  Rules adopted 
pursuant to this subsection are major substantive rules pursuant to Title 5, chapter 375, 
subchapter 2-A. 
5.  Repeal.  Upon the repeal of the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, 
United States Code, Sections 300aa-1 to 300aa-34, the department shall submit 
legislation repealing this section. 
Sec. 10.  Reference manual.  The Department of Health and Human Services 
shall add the vaccine injury table of covered vaccines and associated injuries established 
by 42 Code of Federal Regulations, Section 100.3 (2000) to the Maine Immunization 
Program's Provider Reference Manual created by the department's division of infectious 
disease within the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. 
SUMMARY 
This bill establishes the Vaccine Consumer Protection Program within the 
Department of Health and Human Services and describes the services provided under the 
program.  This bill also clarifies that a medical exemption from immunization for the 
purposes of school attendance is to be determined by the child's physician.  This bill also 
removes the Commissioner of Education and the Department of Health and Human 
Services rule-making authority regarding the statutory immunization provisions and 
school and municipal authority to have more stringent immunization requirements than 
state law.