WEST virginia Legislature
2017 regular session
By
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to the Committee on Government Organization
A BILL to amend and reenact §16-2-3, §16-2-11 and §16-2-13 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to powers and duties of local boards of health; granting county commissions authority to approve, modify or disapprove policies to be implemented by local boards of health; and allowing county commissions to review existing policies and approve, modify or void them.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §16-2-3, §16-2-11 and §16-2-13 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. LOCAL BOARDS OF
HEALTH.
§16-2-3. Authority to create, establish and maintain
county boards of health; service area; health policy approval.
(a) If no other local
board of health responsible for public health in a specific service area is
organized pursuant to this article a county commission shall approve, create,
establish and maintain a county board of health. The county board of health shall be organized
and have the powers and duties as set forth in this article.
(b) The service area of
any county board of health is the county territorial limits. It shall include all municipalities within
the county: Provided, That a
municipality within the county territorial limits that operates a municipal
board of health and maintains a separate full-time municipal health department
under the supervision of a municipal local health officer or, that is a member
of a combined local board of health, may not be included in a local board of
health.
(c) The county board of
health is required to submit any potential health policy to the county
commission sixty days prior to the anticipated enforcement and enactment date
of the policy. The county commission may
by a majority vote of its members enter an order either approving, modifying or
disapproving any county-wide health policy which the county board of health
wishes to implement. If the county commission enters an order which disapproves
the policy, the county board of health may not enact or enforce the
policy. The county commission may call
up any policy of the county board of health existing prior to the enactment of
this section during the 2017 Regular Session of the Legislature and approve,
modify or void such policy.
§16-2-11. Local board of health; powers and duties.
(a) Each local board of health
created, established and operated pursuant to the provisions of this article
shall:
(1) Provide the following
basic public health services and programs in accordance with state public
health performance-based standards: Provided,
That any local board of health created pursuant to section three of this
article is required to have any policy approved by order of the county
commission;
(i) Community health
promotion including assessing and reporting community health needs to improve
health status, facilitating community partnerships including identifying the
community's
priority health needs, mobilization of a community around identified priorities
and monitoring the progress of community health education services;
(ii) Environmental health
protection including the promoting and maintaining of clean and safe air,
water, food and facilities and the administering of public health laws as
specified by the commissioner as to general sanitation, the sanitation of
public drinking water, sewage and wastewater, food and milk, and the sanitation
of housing, institutions, and recreation; and
(iii) Communicable or
reportable disease prevention and control including disease surveillance, case
investigation and follow-up, outbreak investigation, response to epidemics, and
prevention and control of rabies, sexually transmitted diseases, vaccine
preventable diseases, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and other communicable and
reportable diseases;
(2) Appoint a local health
officer to serve at the will and pleasure of the local board of health with
approval of the commissioner;
(3) Submit a general plan
of operation to the commissioner for approval, if it receives any state or
federal money for health purposes. This program plan shall be submitted
annually and comply with provisions of the local board of health standards
administrative rule: Provided, That
the commissioner may not modify or alter any policy of any local board of
health created pursuant to section three of this article which has been
approved by the county commission pursuant to subsection (c) of section three
of this article.
(4) Provide equipment and
facilities for the local health department that are in compliance with federal
and state law;
(5) Permit the
commissioner to act by and through it, as needed. The commissioner may enforce
all public health laws of this state, the rules and orders of the secretary,
any county commission orders or municipal ordinances of the board's
service area relating to public health, and the rules and orders of the local
board within the service area of a local board. The commissioner may enforce
these laws, rules and orders when, in the opinion of the commissioner, a public
health emergency exists or when the local board fails or refuses to enforce
public health laws and rules necessary to prevent and control the spread of a
communicable or reportable disease dangerous to the public health. The expenses
incurred shall be charged against the counties or municipalities concerned Permit
the commissioner to act by and through the local board of health when, in the
opinion of the commissioner, a public health emergency exists or when the local
board fails or refuses to enforce public health laws and rules necessary to
prevent and control the spread of a communicable or reportable disease
dangerous to the public health. Acting through the local board of health the
commissioner may:
(A) Enforce all public health laws of this state;
(B) Enforce the rules and orders of the
secretary;
(C) Enforce any county
commission orders including orders of the county commission approving local
board of health policy;
(D) Enforce any municipal ordinances of the
board’s service area relating to public health; and
(E) Enforce the rules and orders of the local
board within the service area of a local board.
The expenses incurred
shall be charged against the counties or municipalities concerned;
(6) Deposit all moneys and
collected fees into an account designated for local board of health purposes.
The moneys for a municipal board of health shall be deposited with the
municipal treasury in the service area. The moneys for a county board of health
shall be deposited with the county treasury in the service area. The moneys for
a combined local board of health shall be deposited in an account as designated
in the plan of combination: Provided, That nothing contained in this
subsection is intended to conflict with the provisions of article one, chapter
sixteen of this code;
(7) Submit vouchers or
other instruments approved by the board and signed by the local health officer
or designated representative to the county or municipal treasurer for payment
of necessary and reasonable expenditures from the county or municipal public
health funds: Provided, That a combined local board of health shall draw
upon its public health funds account in the manner designated in the plan of
combination;
(8) Participate in audits,
be in compliance with tax procedures required by the state and annually develop
a budget for the next fiscal year;
(9) Perform public health
duties approved and assigned by order of a county commission or by
municipal ordinance consistent with state public health laws; and
(10) Enforce the public
health laws of this state and any other laws of this state applicable to the
local board.
(b) Each local board of
health created, established and operated pursuant to the provisions of this
article may:
(1) Provide primary care
services, clinical and categorical programs, and enhanced public health
services;
(2) Employ or contract with
any technical, administrative, clerical or other persons, to serve as needed
and at the will and pleasure of the local board of health. Staff and any
contractors providing services to the board shall comply with applicable West
Virginia certification and licensure requirements. Eligible staff employed by
the board shall be covered by the rules of the Division of Personnel under
section six, article ten, chapter twenty-nine of this code. However, any local
board of health may, in the alternative and with the consent and approval of
the appointing authority, establish and adopt a merit system for its eligible
employees. The merit system may be similar to the state merit system and may be
established by the local board by its order, subject to the approval of the
appointing authority, adopting and making applicable to the local health
department all, or any portion of any order, rule, standard, or compensation
rate in effect in the state merit system as may be desired and as is properly
applicable;
(3) Adopt and promulgate
and from time to time amend rules consistent with state public health laws and
the rules of the West Virginia State Department of Health and Human Resources,
that are necessary and proper for the protection of the general health of the
service area and the prevention of the introduction, propagation and spread of
disease. Any action on these rules requires the approval of the county
commission as set forth in subsection (c) of section three of this
article. All rules shall be filed
with the clerk of the county commission or the clerk or the recorder of the
municipality or both and shall be kept by the clerk or recording officer in a
separate book as public records;
(4) Accept, receive and
receipt for money or property from any federal, state or local governmental
agency, from any other public source or from any private source, to be used for
public health purposes or for the establishment or construction of public
health facilities;
(5) Assess, charge and
collect fees for permits and licenses for the provision of public health
services: Provided, That permits and licenses required for agricultural
activities may not be assessed, charged or collected: Provided, however,
That a local board of health may assess, charge and collect all of the expenses
of inspection of the physical plant and facilities of any distributor, producer
or pasteurizer of milk whose milk distribution, production or pasteurization
facilities are located outside this state but who sells or distributes in the
state, or transports, causes or permits to be transported into this state, milk
or milk products for resale, use or consumption in the state and in the service
area of the local board of health. A local board of health may not assess,
charge and collect the expenses of inspection if the physical plant and
facilities are regularly inspected by another agency of this state or its
governmental subdivisions or by an agency of another state or its governmental
subdivisions certified as an approved inspection agency by the commissioner. No
more than one local board of health may act as the regular inspection agency of
the physical plant and facilities; when two or more include an inspection of
the physical plant and facilities in a regular schedule, the commissioner shall
designate one as the regular inspection agency;
(6) Assess, charge and
collect fees for services provided by the local health department: Provided,
That fees for services shall be submitted to and approved by the commissioner: Provided,
however, That a local health department may bill health care service fees to a
payor which includes, but is not limited to, Medicaid, a Medicaid Managed Care
Organization and the Public Employees Insurance Agency for medical services
provided: Provided further, that health care service fees billed by a
local health department are not subject to commissioner approval and may be at
the payor’s maximum allowable rate.
(7) Contract for payment
with any municipality, county or Board of Education for the provision of local
health services or for the use of public health facilities. Any contract shall
be in writing and permit provision of services or use of facilities for a
period not to exceed one fiscal year. The written contract may include
provisions for annual renewal by agreement of the parties; and
(8) Retain and make
available child safety car seats, collect rental and security deposit fees for
the expenses of retaining and making available child safety car seats, and
conduct public education activities concerning the use and preventing the
misuse of child safety car seats: Provided, That this subsection is not
intended to conflict with the provisions of section forty-six, article fifteen,
chapter seventeen-c of this code: Provided, however, That any local
board of health offering a child safety car seat program or employee or agent
of a local board of health is immune from civil or criminal liability in any
action relating to the improper use, malfunction or inadequate maintenance of
the child safety car seat and in any action relating to the improper placement,
maintenance or securing of a child in a child safety car seat.
(c) The local boards of
health are charged with protecting the health and safety, as well as promoting
the interests of the citizens of West Virginia. All state funds appropriated by
the Legislature for the benefit of local boards of health shall be used for
provision of basic public health services.
§16-2-13. Local health officer; powers and duties.
A local health officer
serves as the executive officer of the local board and under its supervision, a
local health officer shall administer the provisions of this article, all other
laws of this state and the rules and orders of the secretary of the department
relating to public health and applicable to the local board's service area, any county commission orders and
municipal ordinances of the board's
service area relating to public health and the rules and orders of the local
board.
(a) A local health
officer serves as the executive officer of the local board. A local health
officer shall administer the provisions of this article including:
(1) Enforcement of laws
of this state relating to public health applicable to the local board of
health’s service area;
(2) Enforcement of rules
and orders of the secretary of the department relative to public health and
applicable to the local board’s service area;
(3) Orders of the county
commission relative to policy development of the local board of health and
applicable to the local board of health’s service area; and
(4) Municipal ordinances
of the board’s service area relating to public health and the rules and orders
of the local board.
(b) A local health officer
has the following additional powers and duties which may be delegated with the
approval of the board:
(1) To attend local board
meetings as a nonvoting member. A local health officer serves as secretary at
all board meetings and is responsible for maintaining the board's offices, meeting minutes and records;
(2) To supervise and direct
the activities of the local board's
health services, employees and facilities;
(3) To ensure that
procedures are established for the receipt of communicable or reportable
disease reports from local physicians and other reporting sources and for the
transmittal of the reports to the commissioner;
(4) To perform mandatory
HIV tests on persons convicted of sex-related offenses and resident within the
service area; and
(5) To determine when sufficient
corrections have been made to warrant removal of any restrictions or
limitations placed on an individual or entity for public health purposes by an
employee of the local board of health.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is
to provide for approval by the county commission of all health policies enacted
by local boards of health.
Strike-throughs indicate language
that would be stricken from a heading or the present law, and underscoring
indicates new language that would be added.
§16-2-3 has been completely
rewritten; therefore, it has been completely underscored.