A Republican state senator wants to ban the use of vaccine passports and prevent any public or private entity – schools, businesses, beaches, doctors – from asking for someone’s vaccination status.
The bill, introduced Monday, would ban public agencies and private companies from asking whether people have been vaccinated, whether they should be vaccinated to gain access or whether they should provide proof that they have been vaccinated.
Authorizing the use of so-called vaccine passports would amount to discrimination based on an individual’s vaccine status, said state Senator Jim Holzapfel, R-Ocean, who sponsors the bill in the Senate.
“We are very concerned about Governor Murphy’s willingness to consider using vaccine passports that could prevent people from working, going to school or visiting public places,” Holzapfel said in a statement. “In a free society that respects individual rights, we believe that health decisions should be a personal, private choice that a patient needs to discuss with no one but their doctor.”
As the number of vaccinated Americans grows, vaccine passports have become a source of controversy. Advocates say passports will enable the country to emerge safe from the pandemic and return to normal, while opponents claim that they restrict personal freedoms and privacy rights.
As of Monday, everyone aged 16 and over living in New Jersey is eligible for a vaccine, an estimated 6.9 million people. More than a third of the adults in Garden State have already been fully vaccinated and more than half have received at least one dose.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott have already taken steps to ban vaccine passports. New York, meanwhile, has instituted the voluntary Excelsior Pass to provide digital proof of vaccine status or a negative COVID-19 test result.
Government Phil Murphy has said he is open to the idea of passports, but that it is the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“You have historically, and in the here and now, an underrepresentation of valid government IDs in underserved communities, especially colored communities,” he said recently. “But it’s something I would say I keep open-minded.”
The CDC will have to provide guidance on how states should execute the passports, he added.
The Biden administration has said it will issue guidelines on vaccine passports, but will leave the details to the states.
Under the Holzapfel Bill, it is illegal to require people to be vaccinated or to prove that they are vaccinated to travel within New Jersey or elsewhere; participate in sports programs; enroll in childcare, school or college; receiving health or dental care; doing business or starting a business; enter a government facility or public park or beach; or attend a concert, theater, amusement park or sporting event.
Under the bill, employers may not be allowed to employ a person’s employment or refuse a promotion.
Anyone who violated the ban could be ordered to pay $ 25,000 in civil damages plus attorney’s fees, according to the bill.
The University of Rutgers announced in March that it must vaccinate 71,000 students before the fall semester, though that allows for medical and religious exemptions. However, the university does not require that faculties and staff, who have a lower positivity rate than students, be vaccinated, officials said.
Fairleigh Dickinson University will also require students to be vaccinated if they will be living on campus in the fall, attending personal classes or participating in personal activities.
According to a news release, two Republican lawmakers have already signed up to introduce corresponding legislation in the House. However, the bill will have to pass by the Democratic-controlled senate and assembly and be signed by the governor to become law.
“We do not think our state government should threaten or allow personal freedoms to be restricted on the basis of vaccination status,” said Assemblywoman Greg McGuckin, R-Ocean, a sponsor for the meeting. ‘The requirement for vaccine passports to tackle everyday activities would be discriminatory and a number of serious concerns regarding constitutionality and privacy. This fatal idea must be put into the germ. ”
A second bill introduced Monday by Senator Michael Testa, R-Cumberland, would prevent the New Jersey government from forcing customers to vaccinate.
NJ Advance Media Reporter Karin Price Mueller contributed to this report.
Thank you for trusting us to provide the journalism you can trust. Consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription.
Samantha Marcus may be reached by [email protected].