Why does he need to have an executive order for a shot if there was a parental override option? What a waste of time and taxpayer money.
Actually, the EO offered parents more of an ability to opt out of all vaccines in the state:
http://wingright.org/2011/08/07/dose-of-reason-perry-and-gardasil/
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.”
In fact, the reason for the Executive Order was to speed up private insurance coverage and to make it easier for parents to exercise their right to opt out.
“Why does he need to have an executive order for a shot if there was a parental override option? What a waste of time and taxpayer money.”
From what I have read it appears many health insurance companies would not cover the cost of the shots unless it was added to the states list of mandated vaccines. Tax-payer money was already being used to give the shots for to poor kids for free but then the taxpayer had to shell out even more money to get it for their own kids. Perry not only made opting out an option, but changed the opt-out procedure to make it easier for parents.