AUSTIN — The Senate Committee on Health and Human Services held a public hearing regarding a bill that would prevent workers from being required to receive COVID-19 vaccines.
Sen. Mayes Middleton (R-Galveston) laid out Senate Bill 7 for the committee, asserting that the legislation “prevents an employer from taking an adverse action against an employee … for refusing to take a vaccine.”
“It’s about protecting personal liberty,” he said, contending that the law would prevent people from having to make the “awful decision between making a living for their family and taking a vaccine.”
As reported by The Dallas Express, calls for a law like SB 7 grew in response to private businesses and medical facilities recently reinstating various COVID-era mandates. The efforts led Gov. Greg Abbott to add the issue to his special session call.
“This is about personal medical decisions regarding COVID vaccines,” Sen. Middleton told the committee, adding, “We’ve seen several private employers begin to require vaccines.”
“We’ve seen what happens when individual liberties are not safeguarded,” he said. “It should be your decision on whether or not to get the vaccine. … We are just trusting Texans to decide for themselves.”
Sen. Borris Miles (D-Houston) raised concerns that the bill did not include any exceptions for certain industries, asking, “Why are healthcare facilities not exempt in this bill?”
“We didn’t think it was proper to exempt anyone because this is trusting Texans,” Middleton responded.
Miles asserted that medical establishments should be able to mandate COVID-19 vaccines for employees and implement consequences for those who decline to get them.
He also urged the other senators to back doctors.
“I trust their judgment above ours in this chamber,” he said. “Medical professionals matter.”
Miles also expressed concern about what would happen if a patient requested to be attended by a vaccinated employee only, suggesting that if the employer were to reassign an unvaccinated employee, it could be viewed as an adverse action.
Sen. Middleton responded by noting that he did not believe that the reallocation of resources would constitute adverse action by the medical provider against the employee unless it was accompanied by something such as administrative leave.
“Our job as legislators is to protect individual liberties; we are not here to protect businesses,” Sen. Bob Hall (R-Edgewood) said. “They allowed the American people to be the guinea pigs for pharmaceutical companies.”
He called the bill “too little too late,” adding, “I think this bill needs to be strengthened to include all vaccines.”
During public testimony, Jackie Schegel from Texans for Medical Freedom told senators, “I urge you to stand for Texans’ individual rights to make medical decisions for themselves.”
Similarly, Michelle Evans, political director of Texans for Vaccine Choice, supported the bill and asked the committee to back the legislation.
“Being asked to choose between what medical operations you undergo on one hand or your livelihood on the other is the antithesis of freedom,” she explained.
“We’re a state that respects the rights of businesses and health care providers to make judgment calls about how they operate and practice, however, we also recognize that individual liberty is sacrosanct,” Evans continued.
Representatives from the Texas Medical Association requested that medical providers be allowed to ask employees to take the COVID-19 vaccine, but they wanted to work with Sen. Middleton to formalize exceptions, such as for religious, health, and conscience reasons.
Sen. Lois Kolkhorst (R-Brenham) said that bills like this will continue to be brought in Texas until trust can be restored in the healthcare industry. She suggested that “medical professionals lost their curiosity gene” by refusing to investigate the negative effects of the vaccine.
Rep. Brian Harrison (R-Midlothian), a longtime supporter of legislation to prevent COVID-19 vaccine requirements in Texas, applauded the Senate for meeting on the issue.
“The [Texas] Senate is on the floor… WORKING… and they are about to have a hearing on ending [COVID] vaccine mandates,” Harrison said, noting that the House had been adjourned until Thursday.
Ultimately, the committee voted 6-3 to recommend Sen. Middleton’s bill to the full Senate, setting it up for a vote on Thursday. No House committees are scheduled to meet on Wednesday, with many representatives going home until the lower chamber reconvenes.