PRINTER'S NO. 289
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
326
Session of
2023
INTRODUCED BY STAATS, HAMM, FINK, ZIMMERMAN, GROVE, KEEFER,
ROWE, STEHR, SCHEUREN AND FLICK, MARCH 13, 2023
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, MARCH 13, 2023
AN ACT
Amending the act of April 23, 1956 (1955 P.L.1510, No.500),
entitled "An act providing for the prevention and control of
communicable and non-communicable diseases including venereal
diseases, fixing responsibility for disease prevention and
control, requiring reports of diseases, and authorizing
treatment of venereal diseases, and providing for premarital
and prenatal blood tests; amending, revising and
consolidating the laws relating thereto; and repealing
certain acts," further providing for confidentiality of
reports and records.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Section 15 of the act of April 23, 1956 (1955
P.L.1510, No.500), known as the Disease Prevention and Control
Law of 1955, is amended to read:
Section 15. [Confidentiality of] Reports and Records.--
[(a) Except as provided under section 15.1, State and local
health authorities may not disclose reports of diseases, any
records maintained as a result of any action taken in
consequence of such reports, or any other records maintained
pursuant to this act or any regulations, to any person who is
not a member of the department or of a local board or department
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of health, except as follows:
(1) Where necessary to carry out the purposes of this act.
(2) Where necessary to inform the public of the risk of a
communicable disease.
(b) State and local health authorities may permit the use of
data contained in disease reports and other records, maintained
pursuant to this act, or any regulation, for research purposes,
subject to strict supervision by the health authorities to
insure that the use of the reports and records is limited to the
specific research purposes.] Reports of diseases, any records
maintained as a result of any action taken in consequence of
such reports or any other records maintained under this act or
any regulations shall be subject to public access under the act
of February 14, 2008 (P.L.6, No.3), known as the Right-to-Know
Law.
Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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