Law Behind the News

Occasionally, The CDC Public Health Law News  presents features highlighting the law behind the news, including new or pending legislation from federal, state, and other lawmaking bodies, and current or classic court opinions. These offer readers the legal context for current news in public health law.

• British Columbia v. Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd. [2005] S.C.C. 49 (Posted October 5, 2005). In this Canadian Supreme Court case, the government of the Province of British Columbia (B.C.) brought suit against a number of major tobacco companies, seeking to recover the cost of medical treatment for B.C. citizens exposed to tobacco products. The lawsuit was brought under the terms of the Tobacco Damages and Health Care Costs Recovery Act of 2001, a B.C. law designed to make tobacco companies pay for the health care costs associated with smoking. The tobacco companies argued that the law was unconstitutional because it exceeded the provincial government�s power. To read the opinion, click here . Click here to read the text of the Tobacco Damages and Health Care Costs Recovery Act of 2001.

• Arkansas Act 1220, An Act to Combat Childhood Obesity (Posted September 28, 2005). In September 2005, the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement (ACHI) released its second annual Assessment of Childhood and Adolescent Obesity. The report is a comprehensive analysis of the state�s obesity epidemic among the public school population. It charts the effectiveness of efforts to curb obesity undertaken by the state since the passage of Act 1220, entitled �An Act to Create a Child Health Advisory Committee; to Coordinate Statewide Efforts to Combat Childhood Obesity and related Illnesses; to Improve the Health of the Next Generation of Arkansans; and for Other Purposes.� The Act authorizes the collection of body mass index (BMI) data from all students and the reporting of that information to parents. The law also requires schools to explain the possible health effects of obesity, poor nutrition, and physical inactivity to parents. Act 1220 is now codified, in part, at Ark. Code Ann. � 20-7-135 (2005). Click here to read the text of � 20-7-135. Click here to read the ACHI report.

• Florida Emergency Management Powers (Posted September 21, 2005). The topic of emergency preparedness for natural disasters was pushed to the forefront after Hurricane Katrina battered the Gulf Coast in late August of 2005. As Hurricane Rita gathered force as it passed the Florida Keys, Law Behind the News offered a look at emergency management powers in Florida, a state well-accustomed to facing nature�s wrath. Title XVII, Chapter 252 of the 2005 Florida Statutes details the state�s emergency management provisions, including the division of emergency management (Fla. Stat. ch. 252.35), emergency and disaster planning provisions to assist persons with disabilities or limitations (Fla. Stat. ch. 252.356), emergency coordination officers and disaster-preparedness plans (Fla. Stat. ch. 252.365), and public shelter space (Fla. Stat. ch. 252.385). Click here to read Title XVII, Chapter 252 of the 2005 Florida Statutes.

• U.S. National Response Plan (Posted September 14, 2005). In this week�s Law Behind the News, we spotlight the U.S. National Response Plan (NRP). The NRP is an all-discipline, all-hazards plan that establishes a single, comprehensive framework for the management of domestic incidents, including terrorist attacks as well as natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina. It provides the structure and mechanisms for the coordination of federal support to state, local, and tribal incident managers and for exercising direct federal authorities and responsibilities. Click here to read the base plan and appendices (PDF, 114 pages, 2MB). Click here to read the full plan, including all annexes, �Emergency Support Function Annexes�, �Support Annexes�, and �Incident Annexes,� (PDF, 426 pages, 4MB). For more information about the NRP, visit http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/interapp/editorial/editorial_0566.xml

• Mississippi Emergency Management Assistance Compact (Posted September 9, 2005). In this week's Law Behind the News, we continue our look at the legal landscape in the states most affected by the hurricane. This issue features the emergency mutual assistance compacts codified by the states of Louisiana and Mississippi. In 1996, Congress approved a framework for interstate cooperation: the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC). Forty-eight states have enacted EMAC, a contract among the states providing rules to be followed when sharing personnel and other resources across state boundaries during an emergency. EMAC goes into effect after a declaration of a state of emergency or disaster by the governor of the state needing assistance. Mississippi and Louisiana, the states hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina, are both parties to the Compact. Mississippi's law is codified at Miss. Code Ann. � 45-18-3 (2005), and Louisiana's is found at La. Rev. Stat. � 29:751 (2005). Click here to read the full text of Mississippi's EMAC.

• New Orleans Emergency Evacuation Order (Posted August 31, 2005). In this week's installment of Law Behind the News, we feature the emergency evacuation order issued for the city of New Orleans in anticipation of Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005. Mayor C. Ray Nagin issued the Emergency Order, which called for a mandatory evacuation of the city. The order was to remain in effect for five days, or until such time that the Governor of Louisiana declares the state of emergency to be over. The order exempts certain groups and professions, including essential utility and transportation, hospital, and essential news media personnel, and also authorizes the Chief Administrative Officer, Director of Homeland Security for the City, or any member of the city's police department to commandeer any private property to use as a refuge or to transport people from the area. To read the full text of the order, Click here.

• llinois Public Act 094-0629, African-American HIV/AIDS Response Act (Posted August 24, 2005). This week's Law Behind the News spotlights new legislation from Illinois, the African-American HIV/AIDS Response Act. The law, signed by Governor Rod Blagojevich last week, expands voluntary HIV testing in jails and state prisons, and requires the Governor's office, the state Department of Human Services, Department of Public Health, and Department of Corrections to appoint an "African-American HIV/AIDS Response Officer." The law also provides for a university study to determine whether there is a correlation between incarceration and HIV infection, and establishes an HIV/AIDS Response Review Panel consisting of ex-offenders, government officials, and representatives of HIV/AIDS organizations. Click here to read Illinois Public Act 094-0629.

• California General Industry Safety Orders Section 3395, Heat Illness Prevention (Posted August 11, 2005). This week, Law Behind the News spotlights new emergency regulations for the prevention of heat-related illness, to be considered this week by the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board. The regulations would help protect farm workers, construction workers, and landscapers. The regulations were put on a fast track after four California farm workers died from heat-related illnesses last month. The Board will hold a special business meeting on Thursday, August 12, 2005 to discuss the proposed regulation, California General Industry Safety Orders Section 3395, Heat Illness Prevention.

  Click here for background information, and click here to read the text of the proposed regulation.

• Minnesota public health law updates (posted August 3, 2005). This week, we bring you two newly-amended laws from Minnesota, which took effect on August 1, 2005. The laws update the state�s powers for quarantine, isolation, and emergency management. The Minnesota Emergency Management Act was amended to provide that an individual who volunteers during an emergency can be considered a state employee for workers� compensation and tort claim defense and indemnification purposes, among other things. The new amendments to the Minnesota Isolation, Quarantine and Mass Dispensing Law allow peace officers to use force to take a person into custody for quarantine or isolation; courts to appoint counsel at the expense of the Department of Health or a local public health board if a quarantine order is challenged by an individual who cannot afford an attorney; courts to hold hearings by telephone or other remote means, in order to maintain isolation or quarantine; and for the commissioner of health to authorize the administration of vaccinations or other drugs if necessary to protect the health and safety of the public. Click here to read the Minnesota Emergency Management Act with 2005 Amendments. Click here to read the Minnesota Isolation, Quarantine and Mass Dispensing Law with 2005 Amendments.

• Oregon House Bill 2485 (posted July 27, 2005). This week, we bring you a bill recently passed by Oregon�s House of Representatives. If passed by the state Senate and signed into law, Oregon would be the first state in the country to require a doctor�s prescription for pseudoephedrine, the active ingredient in many over-the-counter cold medicines. Click here to read HB 2485.
  
  
• School Board of Nassau County, Florida v. Arline, 480 U.S. 273 (1987) (posted June 22, 2005). The case established that a person suffering from contagious tuberculosis could be a handicapped person within the meaning of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The fact that a person with impairment was also contagious did not remove that person from the Act�s coverage. Soon after Arline was decided, it became a cornerstone of AIDS discrimination law, standing for the proposition that the Rehabilitation Act protected persons with AIDS. Three years later, much of the reasoning in Arline was incorporated into the Americans with Disabilities Act. Click here to read Arline.
  
  
• Illinois House Bill 4023 (posted June 15, 2005). This week�s featured legislation comes from Illinois, which is poised to become the only state in the country to ban the sale and rental of violent and sexually explicit video games to children. Retailers who violate the ban, a petty offense, could face a $1,000 fine. The bill also requires retailers to label such video games, and to post signs explaining the video game rating system. Federal courts have struck down similar bans in other jurisdictions on First Amendment grounds over vagueness about which games would be subject to the bans. Click here to read HB 4023. Click here for bill tracking information on the original bill and its amendments.
  
  
• Canadian Quarantine Act, Bill C-12 (posted June 1, 2005). This week we feature a Quarantine Act recently passed by the Parliament of Canada. According to Dennis Brodie, Legislative and Regulatory Policy Advisor for the Center for Emergency Preparedness and Response at the Public Health Agency of Canada, the new Act contains authority to take comprehensive measures where necessary to protect the health of the Canadian public, and to honor Canada�s obligations under the International Health Regulations. Click here to read the Act. Fore more information, click here.
  
  
• Revised International Health Regulations (IHR) (posted May 25, 2005). This week, we feature newly-adopted global health regulations from the World Health Organization (WHO). On Monday, May 23rd, WHO adopted new International Health Regulations on communicable disease prevention and control, covering such topics as new, emerging, and re-emerging infectious diseases; global health security; epidemic alert and response; global public health response to naturally-occurring, accidental release, or deliberate use of biological and chemical agents or radio-nuclear material that affect health; and SARS. To view the text of the regulations, click here.
  
  
• Alaska Public Health Law Revisions (posted April 13, 2005). This week�s featured item is new public health legislation from the state of Alaska. The state�s basic public health authority was established in state law in 1948, when Alaska was still a territory. Now state lawmakers are considering new legislation that would give public health officials more clearly defined legal authorities, while also continuing to protect individual rights. The new legislation was designed to provide clear authority for controlling conditions of public health importance, including a fresh look at the state�s laws on epidemiologic surveillance and investigation, and quarantine and isolation authority. Click here to read Alaska House Bill 95. Click here to read Alaska Senate Bill 75.

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