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Appendix G The Model State Emergency Health Powers Act as of December 21, 2001 a Draft for Discussion Prepared by: The Center for Law and the Publicâs Health at Georgetown and Johns Hopkins Universities For the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] to Assist: National Governors Association [NGA], National Conference of State Legislatures [NCSL], Association of State and Territorial Health Officials [ASTHO], and National Association of County and City Health Officials [NACCHO] Contact Information: Lawrence O. Gostin, J.D., LL.D. (Hon.), Professor and Director, Center for Law and the Publicâs Health, Georgetown University Law Center 600 New Jersey Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001 (202) 662-9373 gostin@law.georgetown.edu Full text available at: www.publichealthlaw.net 254
APPENDIX G: THE MODEL STATE EMERGENCY HEALTH POWERS ACT 255 PREAMBLE In the wake of the tragic events of September 11, 2001, our nation realizes that the governmentâs foremost responsibility is to protect the health, safety, and well being of its citizens. New and emerging dangersâincluding emergent and resurgent infectious diseases and incidents of civilian mass casualtiesâpose serious and immediate threats to the population. A renewed focus on the pre- vention, detection, management, and containment of public health emergencies is thus called for. Emergency health threats, including those caused by bioterrorism and epi- demics, require the exercise of essential government functions. Because each state is responsible for safeguarding the health, security, and well being of its people, state and local governments must be able to respond, rapidly and effec- tively, to public health emergencies. The Model State Emergency Health Powers Act (the âActâ) therefore grants specific emergency powers to state governors and public health authorities. The Act requires the development of a comprehensive plan to provide a co- ordinated, appropriate response in the event of a public health emergency. It fa- cilitates the early detection of a health emergency by authorizing the reporting and collection of data and records, and allows for immediate investigation by granting access to individualsâ health information under specified circumstances. During a public health emergency, state and local officials are authorized to use and appropriate property as necessary for the care, treatment, and housing of pa- tients, and to destroy contaminated facilities or materials. They are also empow- ered to provide care, testing and treatment, and vaccination to persons who are ill or who have been exposed to a contagious disease, and to separate affected indi- viduals from the population at large to interrupt disease transmission. At the same time, the Act recognizes that a stateâs ability to respond to a public health emergency must respect the dignity and rights of persons. The ex- ercise of emergency health powers is designed to promote the common good. Emergency powers must be grounded in a thorough scientific understanding of public health threats and disease transmission. Guided by principles of justice, state and local governments have a duty to act with fairness and tolerance to- wards individuals and groups. The Act thus provides that, in the event of the exercise of emergency powers, the civil rights, liberties, and needs of infected or exposed persons will be protected to the fullest extent possible consistent with the primary goal of controlling serious health threats. Public health laws and our courts have traditionally balanced the common good with individual civil liberties. As Justice Harlan wrote in the seminal United States Supreme Court case of Jacobson v. Massachusetts, âthe whole people covenants with each citizen, and each citizen with the whole people, that all shall be governed by certain laws for the âcommon good.ââ The Act strikes such a balance. It provides state and local officials with the ability to prevent,
256 BIOLOGICAL THREATS AND TERRORISM detect, manage, and contain emergency health threats without unduly interfering with civil rights and liberties. The Act seeks to ensures a strong, effective, and timely response to public health emergencies, while fostering respect for indi- viduals from all groups and backgrounds. Although modernizing public health law is an important part of protecting the population during public health emergencies, the public health system itself needs improvement. Preparing for a public health emergency requires a well-trained public health workforce, efficient data systems, and sufficient laboratory capacity.