As it stands, parents who don’t wish to vaccinate their children must file a letter with the school district before their children can be admitted to attend. The letter has to state that immunization is “contrary to his or her beliefs.”

This week, the California Assembly passed a bill that would make such exemptions just a bit more onerous to obtain. The bill — authored by Assm. Richard Pan, a pediatrician — would require parents to also receive counseling about the benefits and risks of vaccination, and to submit a form signed by a health care professional verifying that such counseling had taken place. (Assm. Wes Chesbro — vaccination-wary Humboldt County’s representative — voted in favor.)

The bill now goes to the state Senate. But at 9:45 a.m. today, Assm. Pan will join John Matthews to talk about his legislation and the rise of preventable diseases like pertussis in the wake of the vaccine-rejection movement. That’s on KSLG — 94.1 FM, streaming at kslg.com.