Maui County Voters’ Initiative

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Title: Keep Vaccinations Optional and Informed Consent Ordinance

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Section 1. Purpose

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The purpose of this Initiative is to ensure voluntary participation in any vaccination programs administered, operated, or funded by Maui County. These programs must be conducted with full informed consent and free from incentives, penalties, or mandates, while respecting the authority of the State of Hawaiʻi and the United States government in matters of public health law.

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Section 2. Voluntary Participation in County Programs

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1.    In any vaccination program administered, operated, or funded by Maui County, participation shall be voluntary and never mandatory, except where required by state or federal law.

2.    No department, program, or facility operated by Maui County shall compel, coerce, or require any person to receive a vaccination as a condition of access to county services or facilities, except where required by state or federal law.

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Section 3. Prohibition on Incentives and Penalties in County Services

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1.    No Maui County service, program, or facility shall deny access, impose penalties, or provide incentives based on vaccination status, except where required by state or federal law.

Section 4. Informed Consent Standards for County-Operated Vaccination Programs

1.    Any vaccination program conducted or funded by Maui County shall:
 

1.    Provide written information, in plain language, describing the known risks and benefits of the vaccination;

2.    Provide verbal explanation of this information upon request;

3.    Require written informed consent forms signed by the recipient, or by the legally authorized parent(s) or guardian(s) in the case of a minor, consistent with state law.

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Section 5. Advocacy Beyond Maui County

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The Mayor and County Council are encouraged to transmit resolutions or testimony to the State Legislature, the Governor, and relevant state and federal agencies expressing Maui County’s support for voluntary participation in vaccination programs, free from enticements or penalties, and carried out with full informed consent.

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Section 6. Definitions

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1.    “Vaccination” means the administration of any vaccine to a human being.

2.    “Informed Consent” means a process where individuals are provided with reasonably known risks and benefits of a medical procedure in plain and comprehensible language, and give their voluntary consent to the procedure.

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Section 7. Severability

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If any provision of this Initiative is held invalid, the remaining provisions shall remain in effect to the maximum extent permissible.

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Section 8. Effective Date

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This Initiative shall take effect immediately upon certification of its approval by the voters of Maui County, or by the Maui County Council.