Missoula County opposes HB 236: Revise local health board and health officer powers, duties and penalties, up for hearing tomorrow morning in the House Judiciary Committee. If passed, this bill would remove the ability for public health experts to effectively use isolation and quarantine measures to prevent the spread of disease in our community, leading to unnecessary death and illness. Isolation and quarantine procedures are well accepted concepts in the field of public health; changing these definitions in state law would set Montana apart from the rest of the world. This bill also introduces unclear process changes for a governing body to approve, or not object to, board of health or health officer actions. These processes would be confusing to implement and inefficient in practice, resulting in delayed actions and negative public health outcomes.
The Missoula City-County Health Department is writing in opposition to HB 236. This bill attempts to drastically alter core public health practices in our state and does not provide clear detail about how to implement the process changes the bill calls for.
Section 1 of this bill changes the definitions of “isolation” and “quarantine”. Isolation and quarantine measures are scientific approaches to preventing the spread of a communicable disease. These measures are standard practice in the field of public health, and their general definitions are widely accepted and understood. The proposed changes in this section would not only set Montana apart from the rest of the world when it comes to our handling of isolation and quarantine, but would have the devastating effect of our state not being able to control the spread of disease.
These proposed changes would severely diminish the ability of public health experts to control the spread of disease. Quarantine is used as a preventative measure to prevent an exposed individual from spreading a communicable disease before it is confirmed that individual is infected. With some diseases, including measles, meningitis, mumps, and respiratory diseases including COVID-19, individuals may be contagious before they are symptomatic, meaning they can spread the disease to others before they feel sick themselves. When public health experts are tracking and managing such a disease, they may need to order an individual who has been exposed to a disease to quarantine for a defined period of time, to prevent that individual from unknowingly spreading the disease throughout the community. This order to quarantine must be initiated quickly to stop disease spread and protect others – precious time is lost when waiting for lab results that, depending on the disease, may take days. Without this ability to quarantine individuals, communicable disease may spread exponentially in our communities, leading to unnecessary death and illness.
This bill does not explain a process for a governing body to object to an action of a board of health or health officer. While sections 4, 5, and 7 of this bill allow boards of health and health officers to take specific actions without an objection from the majority of a governing body, it is unclear what this process would entail. To be sure the majority of the governing body does ‘not object’ to an action, they must vote on the action, which necessitates a publicly noticed meeting, thus delaying the action, which may be urgently needed. Other parts of this bill call for actions to be ‘approved’ by the governing body, which would call for a similar vote – the difference between ‘not objecting’ and ‘approving’ is unclear.
This bill would fundamentally alter core public health practices in our state, and introduce unclear and confusing processes for governing bodies to approve actions by boards of health and health officers. It would be chaotic to introduce such changes during a pandemic, and the outcomes in our communities would be deadly. We urge you to vote ‘no’ on HB 236.
Representatives France and Tenenbaum,
ReplyDeleteMissoula County opposes HB 236: Revise local health board and health officer powers, duties and penalties, up for hearing tomorrow morning in the House Judiciary Committee. If passed, this bill would remove the ability for public health experts to effectively use isolation and quarantine measures to prevent the spread of disease in our community, leading to unnecessary death and illness. Isolation and quarantine procedures are well accepted concepts in the field of public health; changing these definitions in state law would set Montana apart from the rest of the world. This bill also introduces unclear process changes for a governing body to approve, or not object to, board of health or health officer actions. These processes would be confusing to implement and inefficient in practice, resulting in delayed actions and negative public health outcomes.
Please oppose HB 236.
Health Department written testimony, Jan. 27:
ReplyDeleteThe Missoula City-County Health Department is writing in opposition to HB 236. This bill attempts to drastically alter core public health practices in our state and does not provide clear detail about how to implement the process changes the bill calls for.
Section 1 of this bill changes the definitions of “isolation” and “quarantine”. Isolation and quarantine measures are scientific approaches to preventing the spread of a communicable disease. These measures are standard practice in the field of public health, and their general definitions are widely accepted and understood. The proposed changes in this section would not only set Montana apart from the rest of the world when it comes to our handling of isolation and quarantine, but would have the devastating effect of our state not being able to control the spread of disease.
These proposed changes would severely diminish the ability of public health experts to control the spread of disease. Quarantine is used as a preventative measure to prevent an exposed individual from spreading a communicable disease before it is confirmed that individual is infected. With some diseases, including measles, meningitis, mumps, and respiratory diseases including COVID-19, individuals may be contagious before they are symptomatic, meaning they can spread the disease to others before they feel sick themselves. When public health experts are tracking and managing such a disease, they may need to order an individual who has been exposed to a disease to quarantine for a defined period of time, to prevent that individual from unknowingly spreading the disease throughout the community. This order to quarantine must be initiated quickly to stop disease spread and protect others – precious time is lost when waiting for lab results that, depending on the disease, may take days. Without this ability to quarantine individuals, communicable disease may spread exponentially in our communities, leading to unnecessary death and illness.
This bill does not explain a process for a governing body to object to an action of a board of health or health officer. While sections 4, 5, and 7 of this bill allow boards of health and health officers to take specific actions without an objection from the majority of a governing body, it is unclear what this process would entail. To be sure the majority of the governing body does ‘not object’ to an action, they must vote on the action, which necessitates a publicly noticed meeting, thus delaying the action, which may be urgently needed. Other parts of this bill call for actions to be ‘approved’ by the governing body, which would call for a similar vote – the difference between ‘not objecting’ and ‘approving’ is unclear.
This bill would fundamentally alter core public health practices in our state, and introduce unclear and confusing processes for governing bodies to approve actions by boards of health and health officers. It would be chaotic to introduce such changes during a pandemic, and the outcomes in our communities would be deadly. We urge you to vote ‘no’ on HB 236.