A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT appropriating funds to the department of health and human services, division of public health, to expand local communicable disease surveillance, detection, control, and prevention infrastructure and activities.
Whereas, in the last ten years, cases of communicable diseases have increased over two hundred percent (200%); and
Whereas, State funding to support communicable disease efforts has remained stagnant, thereby creating pressures on local governments to meet these demands; and
Whereas, in the 2017‑2018 fiscal year, general communicable disease control cost twenty million six hundred thousand dollars ($20,600,000), and State funding provided less than five percent (5%) of that cost, or approximately eight hundred sixty‑seven thousand dollars ($867,000), leaving the remaining nineteen million eight hundred thousand dollars ($19,800,000) to be borne by local governments; and
Whereas, State law requires local health departments to implement control measures to prevent the spread of all reportable communicable diseases or communicable conditions and any other communicable disease or communicable condition that represents a significant threat to the public health; and
Whereas, local health departments provide, at no cost to the patient, the examination and treatment for tuberculosis disease and infection and for sexually transmitted diseases designated by the Commission for Public Health; and
Whereas, local health departments must have the infrastructure and capacity to perform communicable disease control and surveillance activities in order to prevent the spread of disease and protect the public health; Now, therefore,
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  It is the intent of the General Assembly to protect the public health by providing additional State funds to address increased demands associated with communicable and emerging infectious diseases. To that end, there is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health, the sum of eight million dollars ($8,000,000) in recurring funds for the 2019‑2020 fiscal year and the sum of eight million dollars ($8,000,000) in recurring funds for the 2020‑2021 fiscal year, to be allocated to local health departments to expand local infrastructure for activities associated with the surveillance, detection, control, and prevention of communicable diseases. In allocating these funds to local health departments under this section, for each year of the 2019‑2021 fiscal biennium, the Division of Public Health shall divide four million dollars ($4,000,000) equally among the local health departments. The Division of Public Health shall allocate the remaining four million dollars ($4,000,000) to local health departments based upon the percentage of the State population served by each of the local health departments. Local health departments shall use all funds allocated under this section to supplement and not supplant existing funds for the surveillance, detection, control, and prevention of communicable diseases.
SECTION 2.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2019.