Proposed Limits on Public Health Authority: Dangerous for Public Health
Overview
2 – 3 p.m. ET | June 8, 2021
Dissatisfaction and anger at perceived overreaches by governors and public health officials in response to the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an onslaught of legislative proposals to eliminate or limit the emergency powers and public health authority used by these officials. At least 15 state legislatures have passed or are considering measures to limit severely the legal authority of public health agencies to protect the public from serious illness, injury, and death. It’s foreseeable that these laws will lead to preventable tragedies. This webinar, presented jointly by the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) and the Network for Public Health Law, provides an overview of the role of public health authority in protecting the health of communities, and examines specific laws that would limit public health authority.
View/download the Presentation Slides
By attending this webinar you will:
- Learn about the scope of public health agencies’ authority to address health risks and respond to emergencies.
- Learn how public health agencies use their authority for more than preventing epidemics and tracking, investigating and stopping the spread of disease and other health threats (e.g. foodborne illness, HIV/AIDS, measles).
- Hear about current legislative proposals to eliminate or limit the emergency powers and public health authority
- Hear about key arguments to counter proposed legislation.
Many of the issues and laws discussed in this webinar can also be found in the related report recently released by NACCHO and the Network, Proposed Limits on Public Health Authority: Dangerous for Public Health.
Moderator:
- Geoffrey Mwaungulu Jr, Director of Public Health Law and Policy, NACCHO
Presenters:
- Lori Tremmel Freeman, Chief Executive Officer, NACCHO
- Jill Krueger, Director, Network for Public Health Law Northern Region Office
- Joe Mazzola, Health Commissioner, Franklin County Public Health
- Joe Durham, Attorney, Eastman & Smith Ltd.; Legal Counsel, Franklin County & Association of Ohio Health Commissioners
CLEs will not be offered for this webinar.
