By State House News Service
and Times Staff
The Massachusetts House has passed a pandemic and disaster preparedness bill that establishes a "chain of command" for public health emergencies. Reacting to concerns, bill supporters said the legislation does not force vaccinations or warrantless searches upon individuals.
Rep. Jeffrey Sanchez, co-chairman of the Joint Public Health Committee, said the bill — approved on a vote of 113-36 — was "eight years in the making" and narrows the power of the governor — setting a 90-day limit on public health emergencies declared by the governor. Under current law, there is no limit on the length of a public health emergency, according to Sanchez.
"Right now, if the governor declares a public health emergency, all power is in the Department of Public Health," he added. "In this bill we empower and provide a role for the local boards of health."
Under the bill, the state Department of Public Health would gain access to medical records and would have the ability to isolate individuals with a court order.
The House version, however, strikes out Senate provisions that had raised a number of constitutional issues by authorizing the state health department to arrest citizens without a warrant, and mandate that individuals get vaccinated, Sanchez said.
Under current law, if individuals refuse to be vaccinated, the local board of health can get a warrant to put the individual under isolation or quarantine, Sanchez said.
"We do not change the law on vaccinations in this bill and we do protect individual rights by establishing a clear process and setting quarantine standards," Sanchez said, attempting to answer concerns from groups such as the Massachusetts Liberty Preservation Association, which had said the Senate bill gave authorities too much power. "This bill does not permit either warrantless arrest or warrantless searches of a home."
Patrick told reporters that the bill is "about public health and public safety."
"And the authority that the bill provides, I think, gives us maximum latitude to assure public safety in the event of a pandemic emergency," he said. "And I think the Legislature is doing the right thing by taking it up."
The move to give local health departments and agencies more leeway in dealing with a potential pandemic — such as a wide local outbreak of swine flu.
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Source: http://www.gloucestertimes.com/punews/local_story_284220255.html 
