Senate Bill No. 454
(By Senators Snyder, Bailey, Ball, Prezioso, Sprouse, Bowman,
Kessler, Anderson, Schoonover, Love, Dittmar, Helmick, Deem,
Sharpe, Ross, Fanning, Chafin, Minear, Dugan, Walker, McKenzie
and Boley)
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[Introduced February 10, 1998; referred to the
Committee on Government Organization.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section twenty-one, article one,
chapter sixteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to amend and
reenact section three, article two-a of said chapter, all
relating to certain rules of local and county health boards
requiring approval by the appropriate body of elected
officials.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section twenty-one, article one, chapter sixteen of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted; and that section three, article two-a of said chapter be amended and reenacted, all to
read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. STATE BUREAU OF PUBLIC HEALTH.
§16-1-21. Fees for services; health services fund.
(a) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter,
the
administrator of the division of health commissioner of the
bureau of public health may assess and charge reasonable fees for
the provision of services provided by the
division of health
bureau: Provided, That no individual may be denied health care
services because of the inability of the individual to pay for
services when services are provided to similarly situated
individuals who have the ability to pay for them. Payments of
fees shall be deposited into a special revolving fund in the
state treasury.
(b) Any balance including accrued interest in the special
revolving fund at the end of any fiscal year shall not revert to
the general revenue fund but shall remain in the special
revolving fund for use by the
administrator of the division of
health commissioner of the bureau of public health for funding
health programs in the ensuing fiscal years.
(c) The
administrator of the division of health commissioner
of the bureau of public health may authorize reasonable fees for
the provision of services by county or municipal boards of health as created in article two or article two-a of this chapter:
Provided, That no individual may be denied health care services
because of the inability of the individual to pay for services
when services are provided to similarly situated individuals who
have the ability to pay for them. Payments of fees shall be
deposited into the local board of health account for use by the
local board of health for funding health programs. The fees
established will be created on a sliding fee basis determined by
an individual's ability to pay:
Provided, however, That the
board of health bureau of public health may submit a request
through the
administrator commissioner for third party
reimbursement where such request is appropriate:
Provided
further, That boards of health which establish such fees shall
annually submit a schedule of fees, a sliding fee scale and an
accounting of amounts collected to the
administrator of the
division of health commissioner of the bureau of public health
for approval on an annual basis.
(d) The
administrator of the division of health commissioner
of the bureau of public health shall
promulgate propose
legislative rules
for promulgation in accordance with article
three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, setting forth the fees
established, assessed, charged, authorized or approved by the
administrator commissioner.
ARTICLE 2A. ALTERNATIVE METHOD OF ORGANIZING LOCAL HEALTH
AGENCIES.
§16-2A-3. Powers and duties of county and municipal boards of health; filing of rules.
(a) County or municipal boards of health created and
established pursuant to the provisions of this article shall
direct, supervise and control all matters relating to the general
health and sanitation of their respective counties or
municipalities. The local boards of health also have the power
and authority to
adopt and promulgate propose for promulgation
and, from time to time, amend rules, consistent with the public
health laws of this state and the rules of the West Virginia
state department of health and human resources, as may be
necessary and proper for the protection of the general health of
the county or municipality and the prevention of the
introduction, propagation and spread of disease. All
proposed
rules shall be filed, in the case of a county board, with the
clerk of the county commission, and in the case of a municipal
board, with the clerk, recorder or similar officer of the
municipality.
These proposed rules have no effect unless
approved by an affirmative vote of a majority of the members of
the county commission members present and voting, in the case of
rules proposed by a county board, and by an affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the governing body of a municipality
present and voting, in the case of rules proposed by a municipal
board. Proposed rules shall be kept by the clerk or recording
officer in a separate book and shall be public records.
(b) It is the duty of local boards of health to protect the
general health and supervise and control the sanitation of their
respective counties and municipalities; to enforce the laws of
this state pertaining to public health, and the rules of the
department of health and human resources, insofar as they are
applicable to counties or municipalities, and to perform duties
in relation to public health as may be prescribed by order of the
county commission or by ordinance of the municipality consistent
with the public health laws of this state and the
regulations
duly adopted by rules of the department of health and human
resources,
promulgated in accordance with article three, chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code. All local boards of health receiving
state or federal funds for health purposes shall submit a general
plan of operation for health purposes to the commissioner of the
bureau of public health for approval. The commissioner may act
through any county or municipal board of health created,
established and operated pursuant to the provisions of this
article.
(c) Local departments of health created and established pursuant to the provisions of either this article or article two
of this chapter shall be notified of each immunization for
hepatitis-b and other blood borne pathogens received by
firefighters within the service area of the local department of
health. Local departments of health shall maintain, for a period
of not less than thirty years, a record of the date of the
immunization and the name of each firefighter within the service
area of the local health department immunized against hepatitis-b
and other blood borne pathogens.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide that rules
proposed by municipal or county health boards require approval by
the county commission or the governing body of the municipality.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.