Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has signed into law a bill passed during a special legislative session last week giving the state control over vaccination requirements for schoolchildren.

The bill, one of five passed during a special session the governor called primarily to deal with the impact of federal budget cuts, was the last outstanding measure. The governor signed the other four last week but waited to sign Senate Bill 3, which since it didn't garner a two-thirds majority in the House will go into effect on Dec. 31 rather than immediately as the original version would have.

The bill authorizes the state Department of Health to set vaccination recommendations independent of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control’s vaccine advisory committee. It comes in response to a chaotic few weeks

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