2002 Health Legislation

This year the General Assembly enacted significant changes to North Carolina’s health care laws in two different bills: the annual budget bill and the landmark bioterrorism bill. In response to the state’s severe financial crisis, the budget bill eliminates or reduces a number of public health programs, services, and contracts. The bioterrorism bill, enacted in the final days of the legislative session, expands the authority of the State Health Director to take action when faced with a public health threat that may have been caused by a terrorist incident involving nuclear, biological, or chemical agents. The law also makes several other important changes in the state’s public health and health-related laws.