June 15, 2021 3:30 a.m.

On Monday, Oregon House Republicans voted in favor of banning vaccine passports in Oregon.

A release from the Oregon House Republican Caucus said the motion to pull House Bill 3407 from the Speaker’s desk, failed on party lines.

The release said the requirement for businesses to check the vaccination status of customers before they can remove their mask has been the focus of criticism from Oregonians, labor groups and businesses.

The legislation would prevent any public body – state, local or special government body – from issuing a requirement for proof of vaccination through a vaccine passport from COVID-19 or variants of COVID-19

House Republican Leader Christine Drazan said, “This bill protects Oregonians rights to privacy”. Drazan said the GOP has already seen public opposition to Governor Brown’s vaccine verification executive order. Drazan said, “We’re the only state in the country with this kind of mandate”. She said people deserve the right to keep this confidential medical information private without a mask requirement.

The release said the bill would prohibit a person or public body from being able to legally require an individual to state or document vaccine status against COVID-19 to access a variety of situations and services. It would also prohibit entities from being legally able to require an individual to wear a face covering if the person does not wish to disclose vaccine status.