​​The Alabama Senate Thursday passed a bill expanding the pool of people who can claim a religious exemption from vaccines and allowing them to do so without explanation.

SB 85, sponsored by Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, extends the existing religious exemption requirements from parents of K-12 students to college students. It also would not require either to provide or explain the reason for the exception or have it certified or approved by local school boards.

The legislation also mandates that public colleges and universities provide both religious and medical exemptions if they require students to be vaccinated or tested for diseases. The bill passed 26-5.

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Orr said during the floor debate the current system creates unnecessary hurdles and potential costs for parents exercising their religious beliefs, saying that roughly half the states allow a similar exemption process.

“It’s not a discretionary function. It is a mandatory function that they have to give you the religious exemption paper. So, why are we doing that? Let’s just let parents affirm that they have a religious exemption,” Orr said to reporters after the Senate adjourned.

Several Democrats raised concerns about public health and the potential spread of disease. The state’s measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination rate fell below 94% in 2022-23. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 95% of the population needs to be immunized to achieve herd immunity.

Sen. Robert Stewart, D-Selma, said that the state has historically “worked hard as a state, as a country, to have strong, robust infection control. He said that “when we talk about religious freedom, we have a duty to keep our communities safe.”

“Public health is a community project, and we should all work together to ensure that our communities are healthy, are viable,” Steward said.

Senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, proposed an amendment requiring a person claiming a vaccine exemption to submit a board-approved physical evaluation form or the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s Preparticipation Physical Education form. The amendment does not provide an enforcement mechanism or sanctions for not submitting the form. The amendment was approved 21-7, 

“At least it gives us an understanding that this child has had some medical attention within the last 12 months prior to them opting out of this particular vaccine,” Singleton said. “If they don’t want to take it to go to school, at least the school now you’re bypassing the health department.” 

But Sen. Tim Melson, R-Florence, wanted the bill to go further and questioned the focus solely on religious exemptions.

“Why do you have to have a… religious exemption? Why can’t it just be a conscientious objection? What are the agnostic people going to do? What are the atheists going to do if they don’t want to do it?” Melson asked Orr.

Orr said that he “would agree” but that he doesn’t think that providing conscientious exemption to vaccines, often referred to as a personal exemption, would pass either chamber.

“It would be more of an uphill challenge than it already is,” Orr said. “So I would love to do that if I were king for a day, but I’m not king.”

Sen. Merika Coleman, D-Birmingham, said she was concerned about removing the Alabama Department of Public Health’s role in tracking exemptions. She said that when there may be outbreaks, health departments will be less equipped to trace a potential virus.

“My fear is when we don’t leave it there at the health department, then we’ll never be able to find out where patient zero is and if there is some type of outbreak, how to be able to bring it under control,” Coleman said.  

A similar version of the bill passed the Senate last year but failed in the House.