[McGruff]

Santorum hammered Perry for pushing a Texas mandate that would have forced young girls to receive an HPV vaccination. Since getting into the campaign, Perry has said that he regretted not bringing the measure to the Texas Legislature for review rather than issuing an executive order — and then said that the measure should have been an opt-in rather than opt-out requirement.

Sounds like John Fing Kerry is running again.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Gov. Perry has explained that the EO (which was done so patients' insurance would help pay for it, and which the TX legislature had put under the governor's pervue -- vaccines were also easier to opt-out of from earlier years ) was the wrong way to go. That if it was to happen again, that the Legislature would be the place for it to originate and proceed, regardless of what powers the Legislature gave the governor in regards to this in the past. The Legislature voted to put aside Perry's EO and he left it there. This is not a flip-flop. No matter how much you wish it were.

…….”The Gardasil vaccine was recommended the FDA’s vaccine approval committee, more than 6 months before Governor Perry’s Executive Order. All girls who qualified for the Federal Vaccines for Children program were eligible to receive the vaccine free of charge: Medicaid, CHIPs, and uninsured or those with insurance that won’t pay for vaccines. The Texas Legislature had previously delegated unconditional authority to mandate new vaccines to the Department of State Health Services, which is under Governor Perry and the Executive Branch.” Source

The Governor’s Executive Order (RP 65) that caused all the controversy also ordered the director of DSHS to make it easier for parents to opt out of vaccines. The Legislature had changed the law from “opt in” to a requirement to “opt out” once for all the school years. Next, they changed to a two year limit on the opt out, and then in 2005, the Legislature restricted the period to one year and required a new State form bearing a “seal.” Parents had to go to Austin or start early in the summer. There were bureaucrats who maintained that the only way to get the form with the seal was to go to Austin, find the right office and make the request in person. Perry used his EO to tell the Director of DSHS to make the request (and the seal) available on-line, making it easier to “opt out.” Source