H. B. 3035
(By Delegates Eldridge, Rodighiero, Ellis,
Hrutkay, Longstreth, Staggers,
Campbell, Marshall and Stephens)
[Introduced January 9, 2008; referred to the
Committee on Health and Human Resources then the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §16-1-6 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to prohibiting the establishment
of new methadone treatment programs and clinics in this
state except for programs and clinics operated by
comprehensive community mental health centers; requiring all
private and community mental health center methadone
treatment programs to monitor each patient's pharmacy
registry each month.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §16-1-6 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. STATE PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEM.
§16-1-6. Powers and duties of the commissioner.
The commissioner is the chief executive, administrative and
fiscal officer of the Bureau for Public Health and has the
following powers and duties:
(a) To supervise and direct the fiscal and administrative
matters of the bureau, and in that regard and in accordance with
law, employ, fix the compensation of and discharge all persons
necessary for the proper execution of the public health laws of
this state and the efficient and proper discharge of the duties
imposed upon, and execution of powers vested in the commissioner
by law and as directed by the secretary;
(b)
To enforce all laws of this state concerning public
health; to that end, the commissioner shall make, or cause to be
made, investigations and inquiries respecting the cause of
disease, especially of epidemics and endemic conditions, and the
means of prevention, suppression or control of those conditions;
the source of sickness and mortality, and the effects of
environment, employment, habits and circumstances of life on the
public health.
The commissioner shall further make, or cause to be made,
inspections and examinations of food, drink and drugs offered for
sale or public consumption in the manner the commissioner
considers necessary to protect the public health and shall report
all violations of laws and rules relating to the law to the
prosecuting attorney of the county in which the violations
occur;
(c) To make complaint or cause proceedings to be instituted
against any person, corporation or other entity for the violation
of any public health law before any court or agency, without being required to give security for costs; the action may be
taken without the sanction of the prosecuting attorney of the
county in which the
proceedings are instituted or to which the
proceedings relate;
(d) To promote the provision of essential public health
services to citizens of this state;
(e) To monitor the administration, operation and
coordination of the local boards of health and local health
officers;
(f) To develop and maintain a state plan of operation that
sets forth the needs of the state in the areas of public health;
goals and objectives for meeting those needs; methods for
achieving the stated goals and objectives; and needed personnel,
funds and authority for achieving the goals and objectives;
(g) To collect data as may be required to foster knowledge
on the citizenry's health status, the health system and costs of
health care;
(h) To delegate to any appointee, assistant or employee any
and all powers and duties vested in the commissioner, including,
but not
limited to, the power to execute contracts and agreements
in the name of the bureau:
Provided, That the commissioner is
responsible for the acts of his or her appointees, assistants and
employees;
(i) To transfer at the direction of the secretary, notwithstanding other provisions of this code, any patient or
resident between hospitals and facilities under the control of
the commissioner and, by agreement with the State Commissioner of
Corrections and otherwise in accord with law, accept a transfer
of a resident of a facility under the jurisdiction of the State
Commissioner of Corrections;
(j) To make periodic reports to the Governor and to the
Legislature relative to specific subject areas of public health,
the state facilities under the supervision of the commissioner,
or other matters affecting the public health of the people of the
state, at the direction of the secretary;
(k) At the direction of the secretary, to accept and use for
the benefit of the health of the people of this state, any gift
or devise of any property or thing which is lawfully given:
Provided, That if any gift is for a specific purpose or for a
particular state hospital or facility it shall be used as
specified. Any profit which may arise from any gift or devise of
any property or thing shall be deposited in a special revenue
fund with the State Treasurer and shall be used only as specified
by the donor or donors;
(l) To acquire by condemnation or otherwise any interest,
right, privilege, land or improvement and hold title to the land
or improvement, for the use or benefit of the state or a state
hospital or facility, and, by and with the consent of the Governor, and at the direction of the secretary, to sell,
exchange or otherwise convey any interest, right, privilege, land
or improvement acquired or held by the state, state hospital or
state facility and deposit the proceeds from the sale, exchange
or other conveyance into the hospital services revenue account.
Any condemnation proceedings shall be conducted pursuant to
chapter fifty-four of this code;
(m) To inspect and enforce rules to control the sanitary
conditions of and license all institutions and health care
facilities as set forth in this chapter, including, but not
limited to, schools, whether public or private, public
conveyances, dairies, slaughterhouses, workshops, factories,
labor camps, places of entertainment, hotels, motels, tourist
camps, all other places open to the general public and inviting
public patronage or public assembly, or tendering to the public
any item for human consumption and places where trades or
industries are conducted;
(n) To make inspections, conduct hearings, and to enforce
the legislative rules concerning occupational and industrial
health hazards, the sanitary condition of streams, sources of
water supply, sewerage facilities, and plumbing systems, and the
qualifications of personnel connected with the supplies,
facilities or systems without regard to whether they are publicly
or privately owned; and to make inspections, conduct hearings and enforce the legislative rules concerning the design of
chlorination and
filtration facilities and swimming pools;
(o) To provide in accordance with this subdivision and the
definitions and other provisions of article one-a, chapter
twenty-seven of this code, and as directed by the secretary, for
a comprehensive program for the care, treatment and
rehabilitation of alcoholics and drug abusers; for
research into
the cause and prevention of alcoholism and drug abuse; for the
training and employment of personnel to provide the requisite
rehabilitation of alcoholics and drug abusers; and for
the
education of the public concerning alcoholism and drug abuse.
Effective the first day of July, two thousand seven, to prohibit
the establishment of any new methadone treatment program or
facility in this state pursuant to 21 CFR §291.505 (1970) and,
after that date allow only a comprehensive community mental
health center as provided in article two-a, chapter twenty-seven
of this code to establish and operate a new methadone treatment
program; and effective the first day of July, two thousand seven,
to require all private and community mental health center
methadone treatment programs to monitor a patient's pharmacy
registry each month in order to detect and deter the practice of
doctor-shopping.
(p) To provide in accordance with this subdivision for a
program for the care, treatment and rehabilitation of the parents of sudden infant death syndrome victims; for the training and
employment of personnel to provide the requisite rehabilitation
of parents of sudden infant death syndrome victims; for the
education of the public concerning sudden infant death syndrome;
for the responsibility of reporting to the Legislature on a
quarterly basis the incidence of sudden infant death syndrome
cases occurring in West Virginia; for the education of police,
employees and volunteers of all emergency services concerning
sudden infant death syndrome; for the state sudden infant death
syndrome advisory council to develop regional family support
groups to provide peer support to families of sudden infant death
syndrome victims; and for requesting appropriation of funds in
both federal and state budgets to fund the sudden infant death
syndrome program;
(q) To establish and maintain a state hygienic laboratory as
an aid in performing the duties imposed upon the commissioner,
and to employ chemists, bacteriologists, and other employees that
may be necessary to properly operate the laboratory. The
commissioner may establish branches of the state laboratory at
any points within the state that are necessary in the interest of
the public health;
(r) To establish and fund a uniform health professionals
data system to collect and maintain uniform data on all health
professionals in the state. This data shall include, but not be limited to, the following information about each health
professional: His or her name, profession, the area of the state
where he or she is practicing, his or her educational background,
his or her employer's name, and number of years practicing within
the profession. The boards provided
for in articles three, four,
four-a, five, seven, seven-a, fourteen, fourteen-a, fifteen,
sixteen, twenty, twenty-one, twenty-three, twenty-eight,
thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-four, thirty-five, thirty-six and
thirty-seven, chapter thirty of this code shall annually collect
the data on health professionals under their jurisdiction in the
format prescribed by the commissioner. Each board shall pay to
the bureau annually, an amount determined by the commissioner to
be a pro rata portion, for anticipated expenses to establish and
operate the uniform health professionals data system required by
this section. The commissioner may standardize data collection
methods if necessary to implement the provisions of this section.
The commissioner shall publish annually and make available, upon
request, a report setting forth the data which was collected the
previous year
; areas of the state which the collected data
indicates have a shortage of health professionals; and
projections, based upon the collected data, as to the need for
more health professionals in certain areas;
(s) To expend, for the purpose of performing the public
health duties imposed on the bureau, or authorized by law, any sums appropriated by the Legislature. The commissioner may make
advance payments to public and nonprofit health services
providers when the commissioner determines it is necessary for
the initiation or continuation of public health services. The
advance payments, being in derogation of the principle of payment
only after receipt
of goods or services, shall be authorized only
after serious
consideration by the commissioner of the necessity
of the advance payments and shall be for a period no greater than
ninety days in advance of rendition of service or receipt of
goods and continuation of health services; and
(t) To exercise all other
powers delegated to the
commissioner by the secretary or by this chapter or otherwise in
this code, to enforce all health laws, and to pursue all other
activities necessary and incident to the authority and area of
concern entrusted to the bureau or the commissioner.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to prohibit the
establishment of new methadone treatment programs and clinics in
this state except for programs and clinics operated by
comprehensive community mental health centers and to require all
private and community mental health center methadone treatment
programs to monitor each patient's pharmacy registry each month
in an effort to prevent the practice of doctor-shopping.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.