PRINTER'S NO. 3324
No. 2371 Session of 2002
INTRODUCED BY SANTONI, CALTAGIRONE, STABACK, THOMAS, TRICH, COY,
GEORGE, READSHAW, SHANER, MELIO, HERMAN, MICHLOVIC, STURLA,
TRAVAGLIO, GRUCELA, FRANKEL, HARHAI, McGEEHAN, YOUNGBLOOD,
DALEY, WANSACZ, STEELMAN, JOSEPHS, HORSEY, CURRY, BELFANTI,
WASHINGTON, J. TAYLOR, COLAFELLA, G. WRIGHT AND FREEMAN,
FEBRUARY 13, 2002
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES,
FEBRUARY 13, 2002
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, public health monitoring and
22 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:
1 Section 1. Section 3 of the act of August 24, 1951
2 (P.L.1304, No.315), known as the Local Health Administration
3 Law, is amended by adding a definition to read:
4 Section 3. Definitions.--The following terms, whenever used
5 in this act, have the meanings indicated in this section, except
6 where the context indicates a clearly different meaning:
7 * * *
8 (j) Public health emergency." An occurrence or imminent
9 threat of an illness or health condition, caused by
10 bioterrorism, epidemic or pandemic disease or novel and highly
11 infectious agent or biological or chemical toxin, that poses a
12 substantial risk of human fatality or long-term disability, or
13 an occurrence where such illness or health condition results
14 from a natural or man-made disaster.
15 Section 2. The act is amended by adding sections to read:
16 Section 10.1. Public Health Emergency Response.--County
17 health departments shall have the authority to plan for and
18 respond to public health emergencies within their jurisdiction.
19 Such plans shall include:
20 (1) reasonable and appropriate mechanisms for monitoring the
21 potential for and the spread of an event which could or does
22 pose a public health emergency;
23 (2) reliable testing and evaluation in order to determine
24 the presence of a public health emergency;
25 (3) mechanisms for identifying and treating all individuals
26 thought to have been exposed to an illness or health condition
27 resulting in a public health emergency;
28 (4) provisions for quarantining and isolating individuals
29 and groups who may have been exposed to or infected by a
30 contagious or infectious agent;
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1 (5) provisions for providing mass inoculations or treatment
2 for individuals who have been exposed or could reasonably be
3 expected to be exposed to a contagious or infectious agent,
4 including the stockpiling of inoculations, vaccines, immunizing
5 agents, antibiotics, serums, antitoxins, medications and medical
6 supplies as may be deemed appropriate;
7 (6) provisions for closing, evacuating and decontaminating
8 facilities where there is a reasonable cause to believe that a
9 condition may endanger the public health;
10 (7) provisions for dealing with the victims of a public
11 health emergency, including corpses;
12 (8) provisions for disposing of contaminated materials and
13 supplies;
14 (9) an inventory of resources available to the county to
15 respond to a public health emergency; and
16 (10) provisions for commanding the use of such resources as
17 may be necessary to reasonably respond to a public health
18 emergency.
19 Section 10.2. Public Health Monitoring.--County health
20 departments shall have the authority to create systems,
21 including electronic means, to monitor and collect data and
22 other information that would enable that health department to
23 determine if a public health emergency is imminent.
24 Section 10.3. Public Health Assessment.--County health
25 departments shall have the authority to collect baseline health
26 status data, disease data and other data and information that
27 would allow that county to assess the health status of the
28 residents of that county and evaluate the success of any public
29 health improvement effort.
30 Section 3. Section 25 of the act, amended December 17, 1990
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1 (P.L.717, No.179), is amended and the section is amended by
2 adding subsections: to read:
3 Section 25. State Grants to County Departments of Health and
4 to Certain Municipalities.--* * *
5 (d) Environmental Health Services.--The Commonwealth shall
6 pay an additional annual grant of not more than [one dollar and
7 fifty cents ($1.50)] three dollars ($3.00) per capita resident
8 to each county department of health or department or board of
9 health of a municipality eligible for grants under this act for
10 environmental health services provided by the county or
11 municipality.
12 As used in this subsection "environmental health services"
13 means services such as but not limited to air and noise
14 pollution control, restaurant and wholesale food inspection,
15 rodent and vector control, water and sewage inspection, housing
16 code enforcement and other similar services in addition to other
17 local health grants for public health services.
18 (e) Planning and Incentive Grants.--In order to stimulate
19 local and regional public health infrastructure, the Department
20 of Health shall offer counties, which do not have a county
21 health department or are not participating in a joint county
22 health department on the effective date of this subsection, one-
23 time grants to enable them to plan for the development of a
24 local health department. The maximum grant awarded to any county
25 for planning under this section shall be fifty thousand dollars
26 ($50,000). In addition, the Department of Health shall offer
27 incentive grants to counties, which do not have a county health
28 department or are not participating in a joint county health
29 department on the effective date of this subsection, to assist
30 them in the costs of creating a county health department. The
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1 maximum incentive grant offered to any county shall be five
2 hundred thousand dollars ($500,000).
3 (f) Public Health Emergency Planning Grants.--County health
4 departments, joint-county health departments and municipal
5 health departments certified by the Secretary of Health pursuant
6 to this act shall receive a grant from the Department of Health
7 to develop a local public health emergency plan pursuant to this
8 act. Such grants shall be either seven and one-half cents (7
9 1/2¢) cents per capita resident or one hundred thousand dollars
10 ($100,000), whichever amount is greater.
11 (g) Public Health Monitoring Grants.--County health
12 departments, joint-county health departments and municipal
13 health departments certified by the Secretary of Health pursuant
14 to this act shall receive a one-time implementation grant from
15 the Department of Health to develop a health monitoring system
16 pursuant to this act. Such grants shall be for no more than two
17 hundred and fifty thousand dollars ($250,000). After such
18 monitoring systems are implemented, counties shall receive a
19 monitoring system maintenance payment equal to ten cents (10¢)
20 per capita resident.
21 * * *
22 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2002.
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