SACRAMENTO, Calif. --
A contentious bill that would require California schoolchildren to be vaccinated faces a critical vote Wednesday after lawmakers' concerns prompted a one-week delay. The Senate Education Committee scheduled the vote on the bill by Sen. Richard Pan, a Democratic pediatrician from Sacramento. The proposal would eliminate California's personal-belief and religious exemptions so unvaccinated children would not be able to attend public or private schools. Medical waivers would only be available for children who have health problems. Lawmakers delayed a vote on the bill last week after some on the committee worried it would deprive unvaccinated children from receiving an adequate education. Since then, Democratic Senate leaders removed Republican Minority Leader Bob Huff, R-Diamond Bar, an opponent of the bill, from the committee and replaced him with Sen. Sharon Runner, R-Lancaster. Runner said she has not decided how she will vote. The majority party also appointed Sen. Bill Monning, D-Carmel, who voted for the bill when it was heard in the health committee. Pan said Tuesday that he's optimistic his bill will advance. He made changes allowing families that opt out of vaccines to homeschool their children together and allowing students to seek independent study. Although the measure has broad support from medical, education and public health groups, opponents have flooded the Capitol to testify at recent hearings and prompted extra security for lawmakers. The plan still faces many legislative hurdles, but if it becomes law, California would join Mississippi and West Virginia as the only states with such strict vaccine rules. Pan said recent outbreaks of whooping cough and measles serve as a reminder of California's need to maintain high vaccination rates, particularly in schools where some children cannot be immunized because of medical conditions. "We need to protect our children - not only our own but other children in the community as well," he said. Many parents who oppose SB277 argue that it will not protect children with weak immune systems. They say vaccines have been linked to autism and other developmental diseases, even as the medical community says such claims have been disproved. The proposal was among several drafted across the nation in the wake of a measles outbreak that started in December at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, and sickened more than 100 people in the U.S. and Mexico.