Nov 8 (CIDRAP News) – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is working on model legislation to equip states to cope with public health emergencies, and the current draft is now available on the Internet, according to a recent announcement by Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy G. Thompson.
To deal with bioterrorism, Thompson said in a press release, "We need not only a strong health infrastructure and a full stockpile of medical resources, but also the legal and emergency tools to help our citizens quickly." He said the CDC has led a process over the past 6 months to develop a "Model State Emergency Health Powers Act." The agency will continue to work on the model legislation with several partners, including national associations of governors, state legislatures, state attorneys general, and state and local public health officials.
"Our goal is to develop a consensus-based model legislation to assist states that are considering new emergency public health legislation," Thompson said. "States may adopt any or all of the resulting model legislation, as well as tailor it to meet their individual needs."
The model law was developed by the Center for Law and the Public's Health, a joint project of Georgetown and Johns Hopkins Universities. The draft includes sections on reporting and tracking of public health threats, emergency declarations, emergency powers affecting both people and property, information dissemination, and planning.
See also:
Statement by HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson regarding the Model State Emergency Health Powers Act
Draft of the Model State Emergency Health Powers Act
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/195159
Center for Law and the Public's Health, Georgetown and Johns Hopkins Universities
https://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/center-for-law-and-the-publics-health/index.html
