California Assembly Bill(AB) 2098 was introduced in February 2022, by California Assemblymember Evan Low, who had previously formed the Vaccine Work Group with six other Democratic lawmakers, with the intent of developing legislation promoting COVID-19 vaccines and “battling misinformation.” The bill was supported by the American Medical Association, passed the California Assembly in May 2022, and the California Senate in late August 2022, before Gavin Newsom signed it into law.

AB 2098 bars doctors “from providing ‘treatment or advice’ ‘to a patient’ ‘related to COVID-19’ when that treatment or advice includes (1) ‘false information’ (2) ‘that is contradicted by contemporary scientific consensus’ (3) ‘contrary to the standard of care.’ If a doctor goes against this ill-defined ‘consensus,’ the doctor is guilty of ‘unprofessional conduct’ and can face disciplinary action.”

A variety of legal challenges are currently in the California Federal Courts.