New bill expands Legislature’s authority in declaring public health emergencies - 04/02/2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – April 2, 2007 Contact: Patrick Golden
617-722-2130
Boston – State Rep. Peter Koutoujian, D-Waltham, today announced the Joint Committee on Public Health is considering special legislation that creates an emergency council that could be triggered through a vote of the Legislature to respond to public health disasters, such as flu pandemic or bioterrorism attack.
A hearing for the bill is scheduled for Wednesday, April 4 at 10 a.m. in Gardner Auditorium at the State House.
Under current law, the Governor has the authority to declare a state of emergency. The proposed “Act Creating a Council on Remediation of Public Health Emergencies” allows the Commonwealth to respond more quickly and efficiently to public health disasters by allowing the Legislature – through a joint resolution – to declare a public health disaster is occurring and convene a special seven-member council to respond to the threat.
“This bill will greatly improve our chances of avoiding a Hurricane Katrina-like scenario, where separate government agencies were slow in responding to the disaster because it was unclear which would act,” said Koutoujian. “Creating this new plan for responding to an emergency will create a clearer strategy for dealing with these emergencies by establishing one centralized body that is inclusive of all government branches and agencies that should be included in the decision-making process.”
The council includes the Governor, Speaker of the House, Senate President, secretaries of the Executive office of Public Safety, Health and Human Services, Transportation & Construction and the Department of Education Commissioner.
The types of public health emergencies in which the council would convene include those that pose an imminent threat of illness or deaths to a significant proportion of the Commonwealth, and are caused by an infectious and contagious disease, a chemical attack or accidental release, a nuclear attack or an act of bioterrorism.
The council will have the authority to vote on mitigation strategies including:
Restriction of pubic gatherings
Travel advisories
Recommendations for voluntary isolation of infected and uninfected populations
Closure of Schools
Limitations on Public Transportation
Recommendations for widespread use of disposable masks or other personal protective equipment
Recommendations for shielding measures or other voluntary measures of self-protection.
The bill also calls for the creation of a special advisory committee to assist the council and its staff in formulating policies, procedures and guidelines in the planning for and responding to public health emergencies and the distribution of necessities needed to preserve the public’s heath, such as food, water, shelter, medicine, vaccines and health care. The Department of Public Health Commissioner will serve as chairperson of the advisory committee.
The council will have the ability to establish and maintain a public health emergency remediation consumer information Web site containing information about public health emergencies and advise the public about the current situation regarding the emergency. It will also have the authority to establish and maintain a 24 hour recorded telephone hotline in order to communicate updates the public and offer guidance during a public health emergency.
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