Network Report Thursday, December 17, 2020 
Join us for a look back – and forward – at trends in public health law and policy. Network attorneys will highlight their top picks for pivotal, influential judicial decisions over the past year on topics including emergency legal response, religious freedoms, reproductive rights, food insecurity, health justice, and the future of the ACA. More than just a “year in review,” this session will help you forecast judicial trends in public health law for 2021. Learn more and register.
Disease Outbreaks at Substance Use Treatment Facilities: Balancing Privacy and Public Health The current pandemic demonstrates the need for careful and explicit consideration of public health reporting provisions in privacy law. In federally assisted substance use treatment facilities, a lack of clear and standardized public health reporting regulations raises questions about how communicable disease reporting occurs in these settings, including whether the burden of disease among specific patient populations is accurately tracked.
Ordinances as a Tool for Increased Enforcement of COVID-19 Orders As the pandemic in the U.S. continues to worsen, many states are requiring additional disease mitigation measures. While governors continue to utilize their executive authority under state emergency management laws to protect the public’s health, enforcement of public health orders at the state and local level has been a challenge across the country. One potential solution is for local jurisdictions to utilize civil infractions as an enforcement mechanism for public health orders through the enactment of ordinances.
Public Health Law News Roundup – November/December 2020 Some of the public health law and policy issues in the headlines in recent weeks include challenges to public health powers; vaccine data and privacy concerns; California’s proposed legislation extending the state’s eviction moratorium; pandemic-induced food insecurity; the Biden administration’s plans for addressing the ongoing drug epidemic; vaccine distribution challenges faced by states; and the Supreme Court ruling on religious freedoms and COVID restrictions. 
Renewable energy standards—often called Renewable Portfolio Standards—are important in hastening the transition from fossil fuels to renewable and low-carbon energy sources, slowing climate change and bringing immediate health benefits to communities. This issue brief, produced collaboratively by the Network and the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health, outlines how renewable energy standards work and the important role they play in advancing health and health equity.
Ideas for Action on Renewable Energy Standards This action guide, developed by the Medical Society Consortium, is a companion to the Renewal Energy Standards issue brief. It outlines ways in which medical professionals can utilize the brief to impact renewable energy policies at the local, state and federal level. 
Public Health Law Webinars – the 2020 Network Collection Recordings are available for 27 webinars the Network produced in 2020 covering a broad array of public health law and policy topics, including COVID-19 response and vaccine distribution, health data sharing and privacy, drug harm reduction, food nutrition and security, mental health promotion, housing insecurity and more. Access these webinars for evidence-based information and best practices, and build your knowledge and understanding of the critical issues that impact the health of communities.
Worth Sharing Potential Health Policy Administrative Actions Under President Biden This resource from KFF outlines more than 50 potential administrative actions that the Biden administration could take on key health policy issues, many of which would reverse or modify controversial regulations or guidance implemented by the Trump administration that sparked significant legal or partisan pushback. The compilation includes actions involving the federal response to the pandemic; the Affordable Care Act and private health insurance; Medicaid; sexual and reproductive health; mental health and substance abuse; immigration and health; long-term care; HIV/AIDS policy, and LGBTQ health.
Already stretched thin by the pandemic and challenged by changing federal guidance, states will now have the responsibility of providing timely and equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. With the approval of the first COVID-19 vaccine, this blog from the National Academy for State Health Policy explores the challenges states face in storing and distributing the vaccine.
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PLEASE NOTE: The Network’s offices will close for the holidays on December 24 and reopen on January 4. Expect delays in our response during this time.
Thank you! Your interest in the work of the Network is important. Together, we can advance law as a tool to improve public health. Please forward the Network Report and encourage others to join the Network! The Network for Public Health Law provides information and technical assistance on issues related to public health. The legal information and assistance provided in this document does not constitute legal advice or legal representation. For legal advice, readers should consult a lawyer in their state.
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