NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1973 SESSION

 

 

CHAPTER 143

HOUSE BILL 106

 

 

AN ACT TO REWRITE G.S. 130-14 RELATING TO DISTRICT HEALTH DEPARTMENTS.

 

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

 

Section 1.  G.S. 130-14 is hereby rewritten to read as follows:

"§ 130-14.  District health departments. — (a) Under rules and regulations established by the State Board of Health, district health departments including more than one county may be formed in lieu of county health departments upon agreement of the boards of county commissioners and local boards of health having jurisdiction over each of the counties involved.

(b)        The State Board of Health may request the health department of a county to become part of a district health department composed of several counties if, in the opinion of the board, the public interest and the delivery of public health services to all the people of the new district would be enhanced thereby.

(c)        Where counties offer public health services through a district health department, the policy-making body shall be a district board of health composed of 15 members. The board of county commissioners of each county in the district shall appoint one county commissioner to the board. The appointed commissioners shall, upon consultation with the Local Health Director, appoint the other members of the board in such a manner as to provide for equitable district-wide representation.

(1)        In addition to the county commissioners appointed, the district board of health shall include: one licensed physician; one licensed dentist; one licensed pharmacist; and enough other persons appointed from the general public to bring the number to 15.

(2)        The composition of the district board of health shall reasonably reflect the population makeup of the entire district.

(d)        Members of district boards of health shall serve terms of three years but no board member may serve more than three consecutive three-year terms on the board.

(e)        The district board of health shall elect its own chairman annually. The district health director shall act as secretary to the board. A majority of the members shall shall constitute a quorum.

(f)         Upon the formation of a new district health department, the boards of county commissioners of all counties in the district shall appoint one commissioner from each county to the district board. These appointees shall then appoint a sufficient number of persons to bring the membership of the board to 15. The appointments shall be staggered thusly: two persons shall be appointed for one year, two for two years, two for three years and the remainder for terms of four years. Thereafter all appointments shall be for three years."

Sec. 2.  Terms and transition. The terms of all members of district boards of health holding office on the date of the ratification of this act shall expire on the same date as they would have had this act not been passed. Upon expiration of these terms their successors shall be appointed to terms of three years and until their successors have been appointed and qualified. At the expiration of the term of the board member now holding office whose term first expires, the county commissioners of all the counties in the district shall appoint his successor and a sufficient number of persons to bring the membership of the board up to 15. These appointments shall be made in the following manner: first, one county commissioner from each county in the district shall be appointed to terms of two years each. Such additional persons as are necessary to bring the board membership to 15 shall be appointed to terms of three years each.

Sec. 3.  Notwithstanding any provision of G.S. 130-14.1, no district health department established under G.S. 130-14(b) shall be dissolved without prior written notification to the State Board of Health.

Sec. 4.  Withholding of funds prohibited. No funds otherwise available for any health department of a county shall be withheld or diminished because of failure or refusal of such county health department to join or remain in a district health department.

Sec. 5.  This act shall become effective upon ratification.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 9th day of April, 1973.