Catastrophic Health Emergency Powers Act

Catastrophic Health Emergency Powers Act
Full title	Catastrophic Health Emergency Powers Act
Enacted by the	49th Oklahoma Legislature
Effective	August 29, 2003
Purpose
Purpose	Grants state and local officials emergency powers to respond to emergencies caused by a disastrous health epidemic and other related emergencies, such as bioterrorism.
Citations
State Law	63 O.S. Section 6101
Codification
Titles amended	Title 63 (Oklahoma Public Health Code)
Oklahoma Code sections created	Sections 6101 - 6804
Legislative history
	Introduced in the House of Representatives as House Bill 1467 by Representative William Paulk; Committee consideration by House Public Health Committee; Passed the House of Representatives on August 28, 2003 ; Passed the Senate on August 29, 2003 ; Signed into law by Governor Brad Henry on August 29, 2003;

The Catastrophic Health Emergency Powers Act (63 O.S. § 6101-6804), often referred to as the Health Emergency Act, is an Oklahoma state law that details the response to a catastrophic health emergency in Oklahoma created as a result of a nuclear weapon, bioterrorism, a chemical weapon or other biological toxin. The Health Emergency Act along with the Oklahoma Emergency Management Act of 2003 form the primary state laws regarding emergency management.

The Health Emergency Act was signed into law by Governor Brad Henry on August 29, 2003

In General

The Health Emergency Act grants state and local officials the authority to provide care, treatment, and vaccination to persons who are ill or who have been exposed to transmissible diseases during a catastrophic health emergency as well as the authority to separate affected individuals from the population at large to interrupt disease transmission. The Act provides for ensuring the needs of infected or exposed persons are properly addressed to the fullest extent possible, given the primary goal of controlling serious health threats and allows state and local officials the ability to prevent, detect, manage, and contain health threats without unduly interfering with civil rights and liberties.

Health Emergency Task Force

The Health Emergency Act created the Oklahoma Catastrophic Health Emergency Planning Task Force for the purpose of preparing a plan for responding to a catastrophic health emergency in the state. Such plan must be annually updated by the Task Force.

The Task Force consists of the following seventeen members:

The Cabinet Secretary of Health, who serves as chair
The State Commissioner of Health
The Commissioner of Public Safety
The Oklahoma Attorney General
The Administrative Director of the Courts;
The Director of Emergency Management
Two members of the Oklahoma Senate appointed by the President pro tempore of the Oklahoma Senate
Two members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives
The Director of the Tulsa City-County Health Department
The Director of the Oklahoma City-County Health Department
The Oklahoma State Fire Marshal
A representative of the Oklahoma State Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision to be appointed by the State Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision;
A representative of the State Board of Osteopathic Examiners to be appointed by the State Board of Osteopathic Examiners;
A representative of the Governor of Oklahoma to be appointed by the Governor;
A person appointed by the Governor representing a statewide organization representing hospitals;
A representative of the Oklahoma Nurses Association to be appointed by the Oklahoma Nurses Association; and
A representative of the Oklahoma Psychological Association to be appointed by the Oklahoma Psychological Association.

Gubernatorial emergency powers

After consulting the Commissioner of Health, the Governor of Oklahoma may declare a state of catastrophic health emergency. By declaring such an emergency, the Governor automatically convenes the Oklahoma Legislature into special session. During a state of catastrophic health emergency, the Governor may utilize all available resources of the state government and its political subdivisions to respond to the catastrophic health emergency and may mobilize all or any part of the Oklahoma National Guard into service of the state.

The Commissioner of Health, under the direction of the Governor, has primary jurisdiction for planning and executing disaster mitigation, response, and recovery for the state. At any time, the Commissioner of Health may request assistance from Commissioner of Public Safety in enforcing his order regarding response, and the Commissioner of Public Safety may in turn request the assistance of the National Guard in enforcing the Commissioner of Health's orders.

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