PRINTER'S NO. 405
No. 355 Session of 2007
INTRODUCED BY SANTONI, CALTAGIRONE, COHEN, CURRY, EACHUS,
FRANKEL, FREEMAN, GERGELY, GOODMAN, HENNESSEY, KOTIK, LEACH,
MAHONEY, PETRONE, READSHAW, SCAVELLO, SOLOBAY, STABACK,
STURLA, THOMAS, WALKO, WOJNAROSKI, YOUNGBLOOD AND COSTA,
FEBRUARY 9, 2007
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES,
FEBRUARY 9, 2007
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of August 24, 1951 (P.L.1304, No.315),
2 entitled, as amended, "An act to improve local health
3 administration throughout the Commonwealth by authorizing the
4 creation, establishment and administration of single-county
5 or joint-county departments of health in all counties;
6 exempting certain municipalities from the jurisdiction of
7 single-county or joint-county departments of health;
8 permitting the dissolution of departments or boards of health
9 in certain municipalities; authorizing State grants to
10 counties which establish departments of health and to certain
11 municipalities if they meet prescribed requirements;
12 conferring powers and duties upon the State Department of
13 Health in connection with the creation, establishment and
14 administration of single-county or joint-county departments
15 of health and administration of the health laws in parts of
16 certain municipalities not subject to the jurisdiction of
17 single-county or joint-county departments of health, and the
18 administration of State grants; and repealing an act which
19 confers health powers upon counties of the first class,"
20 defining "public health emergency"; providing for public
21 health emergency response, for public health monitoring and
22 for public health assessment; and further providing for State
23 grants to county departments of health and to certain
24 municipalities.
25 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
26 hereby enacts as follows:
27 Section 1. Section 3 of the act of August 24, 1951
1 (P.L.1304, No.315), known as the Local Health Administration
2 Law, is amended by adding a subsection to read:
3 Section 3. Definitions.--The following terms, whenever used
4 in this act, have the meanings indicated in this section, except
5 where the context indicates a clearly different meaning:
6 * * *
7 (j) Public health emergency." An occurrence or imminent
8 threat of an illness or health condition, caused by
9 bioterrorism, epidemic or pandemic disease or novel and highly
10 infectious agent or biological or chemical toxin, that poses a
11 substantial risk of human fatality or long-term disability, or
12 an occurrence where such illness or health condition results
13 from a natural or man-made disaster.
14 Section 2. The act is amended by adding sections to read:
15 Section 10.1. Public Health Emergency Response.--The county
16 departments of health shall plan for and respond to public
17 health emergencies within their jurisdiction. Such plans shall
18 include:
19 (1) reasonable and appropriate mechanisms for monitoring the
20 potential for and the spread of an event which could or does
21 pose a public health emergency;
22 (2) reliable testing and evaluation in order to determine
23 the presence of a public health emergency;
24 (3) mechanisms for identifying and treating all individuals
25 thought to have been exposed to an illness or health condition
26 resulting in a public health emergency;
27 (4) provisions for quarantining and isolating individuals
28 and groups who may have been exposed to or infected by a
29 contagious or infectious agent;
30 (5) provisions for providing mass inoculations or treatment
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1 for individuals who have been exposed or could reasonably be
2 expected to be exposed to a contagious or infectious agent,
3 including the stockpiling of inoculations, vaccines, immunizing
4 agents, antibiotics, serums, antitoxins, medications and medical
5 supplies as may be deemed appropriate;
6 (6) provisions for closing, evacuating and decontaminating
7 facilities where there is reasonable cause to believe that a
8 condition may endanger the public health;
9 (7) provisions for dealing with the victims of a public
10 health emergency, including corpses;
11 (8) provisions for disposing of contaminated materials and
12 supplies;
13 (9) an inventory of resources available to the county to
14 respond to a public health emergency; and
15 (10) provisions for commanding the use of such resources as
16 may be necessary to reasonably respond to a public health
17 emergency.
18 Section 10.2. Public Health Monitoring.--A county department
19 of health shall create systems, including electronic means, to
20 monitor and collect data and other information that will enable
21 the county department of health to determine if a public health
22 emergency is imminent.
23 Section 10.3. Public Health Assessment.--A county department
24 of health shall collect baseline health status data, disease
25 data and other data and information that will allow the county
26 to assess the health status of the residents of the county and
27 evaluate the success of any public health improvement effort.
28 Section 3. Section 25(d) of the act, amended December 17,
29 1990 (P.L.717, No.179), is amended and the section is amended by
30 adding subsections to read:
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1 Section 25. State Grants to County Departments of Health and
2 to Certain Municipalities.--* * *
3 (d) Environmental Health Services.--The Commonwealth shall
4 pay an additional annual grant of not more than [one dollar and
5 fifty cents ($1.50)] three dollars ($3.00) per capita resident
6 to each county department of health or department or board of
7 health of a municipality eligible for grants under this act for
8 environmental health services provided by the county or
9 municipality.
10 As used in this subsection "environmental health services"
11 means services such as but not limited to air and noise
12 pollution control, restaurant and wholesale food inspection,
13 rodent and vector control, water and sewage inspection, housing
14 code enforcement and other similar services in addition to other
15 local health grants for public health services.
16 (e) Planning and Incentive Grants.--(1) In order to
17 stimulate local and regional public health infrastructure, the
18 Department of Health shall offer counties which do not have a
19 county department of health or are not participating in a joint-
20 county department of health on the effective date of this
21 subsection one-time grants to enable them to plan for the
22 development of a local department of health. The maximum grant
23 awarded to any county for planning under this subsection shall
24 be fifty thousand dollars ($50,000).
25 (2) The Department of Health shall offer incentive grants to
26 counties which do not have a county department of health or are
27 not participating in a joint-county department of health on the
28 effective date of this subsection to assist them in the costs of
29 creating a county department of health. The maximum incentive
30 grant offered to any county under this subsection shall be five
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1 hundred thousand dollars ($500,000).
2 (f) Public Health Emergency Planning Grants.--County
3 departments of health, joint-county departments of health and
4 municipal health departments certified by the Secretary of
5 Health pursuant to this act shall receive a grant from the
6 Department of Health to develop a local public health emergency
7 plan pursuant to this act. Such grants shall be either seven and
8 one-half cents (7 1/2¢) per capita resident or one hundred
9 thousand dollars ($100,000), whichever amount is greater.
10 (g) Public Health Monitoring Grants.--County departments of
11 health, joint-county departments of health and municipal health
12 departments certified by the Secretary of Health pursuant to
13 this act shall receive a one-time implementation grant from the
14 Department of Health to develop a health monitoring system
15 pursuant to this act. Such grants shall be for no more than two
16 hundred and fifty thousand dollars ($250,000). After such
17 monitoring systems are implemented, counties shall receive a
18 monitoring system maintenance payment equal to ten cents (10¢)
19 per capita resident.
20 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2007, or
21 immediately, whichever is later.
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