Up to date information present sharp improve in legal guidelines limiting state and native authority in public well being emergencies

There are actually 19 states with legal guidelines limiting governors’ or state well being officers’ authority in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic or different emergencies, in accordance with newly up to date information printed at this time on LawAtlas.org. This is a rise from 11 states in June 2021.

Legislators in 48 jurisdictions—all however Iowa, South Dakota, and the District of Columbia—have launched payments in 2021 to restrict state govt authority in a public well being emergency. Between January 1, 2021 and November 5, 2021, a number of of those payments had been enacted into legislation and have become efficient in 19 states, in accordance with the information launched at this time.

The up to date information had been produced utilizing the Middle’s sentinel surveillance methodology for speedy surveillance and authorized information creation of rising legal guidelines and insurance policies.

States have taken a wide range of approaches to curbing public well being authority. As of November 5, 2021:

• Fifteen states have restricted each the then-governor’s authority and the authority of a state well being company or official: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, Tennessee, Utah, and Wyoming.
• Eleven states—Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Montana, New Hampshire, Ohio, Tennessee, Utah, and Wyoming—restricted the governor’s authority, the authority of a state well being company or official, and the authority of a neighborhood well being company or official.
• Some legal guidelines restrict the period of a state of emergency or restrict emergency orders to a particular variety of days (as in Arkansas, for instance). Others require elected officers to approve well being officer actions (as in North Dakota), or prohibit the governor or well being officers from requiring vaccination (as in Tennessee).

Notably, Kansas was the primary state in 2021 to cross a legislation limiting public well being emergency orders. Kansas continues to be the one state to permit counties to problem a neighborhood order that’s much less stringent than a governor’s order. The Kansas legislation additionally supplies that such a neighborhood order will function within the county in lieu of the governor’s govt order.

Utah is the one state that restricted each state and native well being officers in all the next areas: Limiting the flexibility to problem emergency orders, limiting the period of emergency orders, proscribing the scope of emergency orders, and establishing that emergency orders could also be terminated by legislature or one other entity.