State Rep. David Wheeler (R-Vestavia Hills) will prefile legislation for the 2021 regular session to mandate that the Jefferson County Health Officer solicit and receive input from a new advisory board before implementing any mandates.
Wheeler’s bill, which is being sponsored in the upper chamber by State Sen. Shay Shelnutt (R-Gardendale), would establish the nine-member “Jefferson County Citizens Health Advisory Board.”
The advisory board would “provide recommendations to the Jefferson County Board of Health on general policies, direction, strategies, and the mission of the Jefferson County Board of Health as the advisory board deems appropriate.”
More concretely, the legislation would also require that before issuing “any resolution, order, or other directive encouraging or mandating county wide compliance,” the Jefferson County Health Officer would need to “provide a copy of the proposed resolution, order, or directive to the Jefferson County Citizens Health Advisory Board and submit a written request to the advisory board to solicit recommendations regarding the subject and content of the resolution, order, or directive.”
“The Jefferson County Health Officer may not issue the resolution, order, or directive until after he or she receives and considers any recommendations from the advisory board, provided the advisory board responds within 10 calendar days of receiving the health officer’s written request,” the bill continues.
In a statement on Thursday, Wheeler said, “2020 has been a unprecedented year of health crisis for our country. The one thing I have heard more than anything else is that every day Jefferson County residents want to be able to offer input before any health orders are enacted for our County. This legislation will allow regular citizens to have input on the health policies enacted in Jefferson County.”
The legislation states, “Members of the advisory board must be residents of Jefferson County. The appointing authorities shall coordinate appointments to reflect the diversity of gender, race, and geographical areas that make up the county.”
Those appointing authorities are as follows:
(1) One member appointed by the Birmingham City Council.
(2) One member appointed by the Jefferson County Commission.
(3) One member appointed by the Jefferson County Mayors Association.
(4) One member appointed by the members of the Senate of the minority party of the Jefferson County Legislative Delegation.
(5) One member appointed by the members of the House of Representatives of the minority party of the Jefferson County Legislative Delegation.
(6) One member appointed by the members of the Senate of the majority party of the Jefferson County Legislative Delegation.
(7) One member appointed by the members of the House of Representatives of the majority party of the Jefferson County Legislative Delegation.
(8) One superintendent in Jefferson County appointed by those superintendents in the School Superintendents of Alabama District 5 who serve school districts located in Jefferson County.
(9) One member appointed by the Birmingham Business Alliance.
“The Jefferson County Citizens Health Advisory Board will bring transparency to the Jefferson County Health Department and their decision making process,” Wheeler added. “This Board will establish a structure by which the public can provide input and the Health Department must consider and weigh the public’s input prior to issuance of any public orders, resolutions or official policy.”
Currently, the Jefferson County Department of Health — which is currently led by Health Officer Dr. Mark Wilson — is not required statutorily to consider input from stakeholders in the jurisdiction before issuing public health orders or other binding policy positions.
“As a resident of Jefferson County, I believe it is imperative that the general public has input on health mandates that are being placed on us,” Wheeler concluded. “It is essential that business owners, parents, teachers, and every day citizens from every walk of life have a voice when it comes to health policies. I believe that this is a great first step to achieving it.”
Jefferson and Mobile are the only Alabama counties with their own health departments. Wheeler’s bill stipulates that nothing in the legislation “shall prohibit the Jefferson County Board of Health to continue to operate under the supervision and control of the State Board of Health.”
Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
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