By Nathan Pierce, Family Protection Ministries
A Record of State-Level Overreach
Over the past two decades, former State Senator Richard Pan has been one of California’s most consistent champions of government control in areas traditionally entrusted to parents. While often framed as “public health” or “child welfare” measures, many of Senator Pan’s bills have eroded the authority of families to make decisions for their own children.
In 2012, Pan co-authored AB 2109, which undermined the personal belief exemption for vaccines by forcing parents to obtain a physician’s signature before declining immunizations. In 2015, he followed with SB 277, eliminating that exemption altogether — one of the most controversial parental rights rollbacks in state history. Later, in SB 866 (2022), he sought to allow minors as young as 15 to receive vaccines without parental consent, a proposal so extreme that it sparked widespread bipartisan opposition.
He has also supported mandates in education, such as AB 1444, which attempted to make kindergarten compulsory for all children — a move that would have replaced parental discernment with state mandates about when and how a child begins formal education.
Each of these bills — and several others Pan has co-sponsored — share a common thread: the belief that the state knows better than parents.
The “Children’s Bill of Rights”: SB 18
One of the clearest expressions of this mindset came in 2016, when Senator Pan introduced SB 18, officially titled “The Bill of Rights for Children and Youth of California.”
This bill proposed that the state recognize and enforce a set of “inalienable rights” for children, such as the right to “optimal development,” “social and emotional well-being,” and to have caregivers “acting in their best interests.” On the surface, this sounded noble — who doesn’t want children to thrive? But beneath the language lay a troubling assumption: that the state, not parents, should be the final arbiter of what those terms mean.
Family Protection Ministries, along with other parental rights organizations, warned at the time that SB 18 would effectively transfer parental authority to government agencies. Its vague language about “healthy attachments” and “social well-being” opened the door for bureaucrats to override family decisions in education, health care, and moral instruction.
Public opposition was strong, and the bill ultimately stalled in committee. But its underlying philosophy — that government must secure children’s “rights” by redefining the role of parents — continues to surface in new policy proposals.
Family Protection Ministries’ Consistent Response
At Family Protection Ministries (FPM), we have tracked and opposed these bills for years, warning that each new expansion of state authority in health or education sets a precedent for further encroachment on family freedom.
In 2012, we warned that AB 2109 represented “a dangerous step toward medical coercion.”
In 2015, we issued statewide alerts on SB 277, urging families to “call your senator to oppose this unprecedented attack on parental rights.”
In 2022, during the fight over SB 866, we joined a broad coalition of parents and faith-based organizations emphasizing that “the state must not stand between parents and their children on medical decisions.”
These battles were not merely about vaccines, kindergarten attendance, or paperwork — they were about who decides. For decades, FPM has stood on the principle that God entrusts parents — not the state — with the duty and authority to raise and educate their children.
The Ideological Concern in Today’s Political Climate
Today, we face a new wave of political energy built on the same assumptions that guided Senator Pan’s legislative career: that government must take a stronger hand in shaping children’s health, education, and worldview.
In many policy arenas — from education standards to “safety” regulations — the same paternalistic mindset persists. It says that freedom must give way to “expert” control. But every time the state substitutes its will for that of the family, it undermines the God-given relationship between parent and child.
This is not merely a California problem anymore. What happens here often sets the pattern for the rest of the nation. That’s why the potential elevation of Senator Pan to federal office deserves close attention.
Proposition 50: Redrawing the Map — and the Future
Governor Gavin Newsom authored Proposition 50, which will appear on the November 2025 ballot, to temporarily transfer congressional redistricting authority from the independent Citizens Redistricting Commission back to the state Legislature.
According to major news outlets, including CalMatters and the Sacramento Bee, the measure’s practical effect would be to increase the number of Democratic seats in Congress by as many as five. Even supporters admit that the goal is to “counter Republican gerrymandering” in other states — meaning Prop 50 is, by design, a partisan tool.
Among those new or redrawn districts is California’s 3rd Congressional District, currently represented by Rep. Kevin Kiley, a Republican known for his defense of parental rights and education freedom.
The Sacramento Bee and KCRA3 have noted that one of the Democrats most likely to benefit from these changes is former Senator Richard Pan. He has long represented much of the Sacramento area that would fall within the new district lines.
If Proposition 50 passes, it could open a clear path for Pan to run for Congress, potentially replacing Kevin Kiley and allowing him to bring his policy ideals — forged in the California State Capitol — to the federal level.
Why It Matters for Families Nationwide
For nearly forty years, Family Protection Ministries has warned that when California experiments with government control over family life, those ideas rarely stay confined within state borders.
If Senator Pan’s legislative approach moves from Sacramento to Washington, we can expect renewed efforts to nationalize state-style mandates — whether through federal health policy, education funding conditions, or “safety” regulations for children.
In other words, the passage of Proposition 50 could allow Senator Pan to get elected to Congress to replace Kevin Kiley — thus allowing him to bring his ideals to the federal government. During his time in the California state legislature, then Assemblymember Kiley fought alongside homeschool families to defend the right of parents to direct the upbringing and education of their children.
This is not simply about partisan politics. It is about preserving the boundaries of parental authority in an era when those boundaries are under systematic attack.
A Call to Vigilance
Christians are called to be both watchmen and advocates — alert to danger, but also active in defense of truth and liberty. California’s political developments often foreshadow the nation’s future.
Prop 50 is more than a redistricting measure. It represents a potential turning point in the balance between freedom and control, parents and the state, conviction and compliance.
We must continue to stand, as we always have, for the family as the foundation of a free society — and for the right of parents to raise and educate their children according to their own faith and conscience.
The last day to register to vote for the November 4, 2025, Statewide Special Election is October 20, 2025. For more information visit: Statewide Special Election 2025
