1. Two state lawmakers will introduce today legislation that would eliminate the personal belief exemption for vaccines in California in response to the latest measles outbreak, the Mercury News$ reports. California is one of only seventeen states nationwide that allows parents to cite their personal beliefs in rejecting vaccines for their children. As a result, numerous regions in the state have large numbers of unvaccinated kids, thereby raising the risk of more disease epidemics.
Toni Atkins.
2. State Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins is pushing a bill that would create a $52 annual fee per car – rather than an increase in the gas tax — in the state to pay for road repairs, the Chron reports. The use fee would generate about $1.8 billion a year. The Brown administration has identified about $59 billion in unmet transportation needs in the state.
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3. Facebook recently closed down Harborside Health Center’s Facebook page, even though the Oakland medical cannabis dispensary has broken no laws, the Chron$ reports. Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, did the same thing. Facebook’s explanation? “We remove any promotion or encouragement of drug use.”
6. And in a move that promises to be a boon for consumers and tech startups, the FCC has decided to move forward with net neutrality, the Chron reports.
