North Carolina Public Health Law

This page contains summaries of 2014 state legislation that affects or may be of interest to North Carolina public health officials and employees. 

This page contains summaries of 2013 state legislation that affects or may be of interest to North Carolina public health officials and employees.

This page contains summaries of 2012 state legislation that affects or may be of interest to North Carolina public health officials and employees. 

This page contains summaries of 2011 state legislation that affects or may be of interest to North Carolina public health officials and employees. 

This page contains summaries of 2010 state legislation that affects or may be of interest to North Carolina public health officials and employees. 

This page contains summaries of 2009 state legislation that affects or may be of interest to North Carolina public health officials and employees. 

During 2008 the General Assembly considered health-related legislation covering a wide variety of topics, including the regulation of smoking in public places, the sale of unpasteurized milk to the public, and the donation of anatomical gifts. Most of the legislation enacted produced relatively minor changes to existing state laws, but the General Assembly did establish two signifi cant new reporting requirements—one related to childhood injuries and another related to race and ethnicity of patients. In addition, the appropriations process resulted in significant increases in funding for local public health services, both in the form of grant programs and direct aid to counties and in various public health initiatives.

The General Assembly considered a wide range of significant and complex health-related issues during the 2007 session. It enacted controversial legislation that prohibits smoking in state government buildings, establishes a high risk insurance pool, amends and harmonizes several state laws addressing end-of-life decision-making, and overhauls the laws governing the practice of medicine. This chapter summarizes all of the above, as well as the 2007 appropriations act provisions affecting public health and other noteworthy legislation including new laws affecting disclosure of confidential medical information, environmental health, and regulation of various health professions and health care facilities. 

As usual, the General Assembly was quite active in the area of health law in 2006. There was some major new public health legislation, including new laws affecting private drinking water wells, food safety, and the on-site wastewater permitting program. A controversial 2005 law that would have required kindergarteners to receive comprehensive eye examinations was amended. An overhaul of North Carolina’s impaired driving laws contains several sections that significantly affect health care providers who interact with law enforcement officers investigating impaired driving cases. Several new laws affect the management of confidential information maintained by health care providers, including the impaired driving law changes, amendments to the Identity Theft Protection Act of 2005, new protection for records maintained by the public health lead program, and changes to North Carolina’s juvenile code (G.S. Chapter 7B). This chapter summarizes all of the above, as well as the 2006 appropriations act provisions affecting public health, new laws affecting health insurance, the regulation of various health care professions, and health care facilities. Other laws that may be of interest to public health agencies or health care providers are briefly noted. 

During the 2005 session, the General Assembly enacted more than sixty bills and budget special provisions affecting public health, government health insurance, health care facilities, and the health care professions. The Current Operations and Capital Improvements Appropriations Act of 2005, S.L. 2005-276 (S 622), provides funding for a number of public health initiatives, including fifty new school nurse positions, grants for community-based programs to eliminate disparities in health status between majority and minority populations, and a pilot program to pay for interpreter services for local health department patients who do not speak English proficiently. A special provision in the appropriations act transfers children under age six from North Carolina Health Choice, the state children’s health insurance program, to the Medicaid program. Other special provisions create the Medicaid Ticket to Work program and establish new criteria for how Medicaid applicants may provide evidence of their North Carolina residency. A new law will require local health departments to obtain and maintain accreditation. Local authority to regulate smoking in public places has been expanded, and smoking inside buildings operated by the Department of Correction (DOC) has been prohibited. The tax on cigarettes increased from 5 cents to 30 cents per pack on September 1, 2005, and will rise to 35 cents per pack on July 1, 2006. The legislature was quite active in the area of school health. A new law requires local boards of education to adopt policies permitting students with asthma or life-threatening allergies to carry and self-administer medications. Another law regulates snacks and beverages in school vending machines. Special provisions in the appropriations act enact a new law requiring all students enrolling in public kindergarten to obtain a comprehensive eye examination and establish the Governor’s Vision Care Program to provide funds for early detection and correction of vision problems in children. The 2005 General Assembly provided for the licensure of perfusionists, the health care personnel who operate heart and lung machines. Several other new laws amend other licensure acts, including those applying to acupuncturists, recreational therapists, and occupational therapists. Two enacted bills make changes to the state’s certificate of need law that are the most significant the health care industry has experienced in over a decade. More than a dozen other new laws or special provisions that are not specifically directed to public health or health care nevertheless will be of interest to health professionals. They include the Identity Theft Protection Act and the Methamphetamine Lab Prevention Act. 42 North Carolina Legislation 2005 These and several other new laws are summarized in this chapter. Other chapters that summarize laws that may be of interest to public health or health care professionals include Chapter 4, “Children, Families, and Juvenile Law”; Chapter 11, “Environment and Natural Resources”; Chapter 16, “Mental Health”; Chapter 22, “Senior Citizens”; and Chapter 23, “Social Services.”

In 2004 the issues of public health and access to health care were front and center on the legislative agenda. Funding was restored to several existing programs and new funding streams and initiatives were launched, including the School Health Nurse Initiative, the Public Health Incubator program, and a new Community Health Grant fund. Several of these initiatives were derived from the recommendations included in the interim report of the Public Health Task Force 2004. The Task Force was convened by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and included representatives from the local and state public health communities, legislators, community leaders, and others. The task force’s report included eighteen recommendations related to the infrastructure of the public health system and core service gaps across the state.1 The group is expected to continue deliberating, and additional recommendations may become legislative proposals in the coming years. 

The 2003 General Assembly enacted several pieces of legislation affecting health care, health insurance, and health care providers, the most significant being legislation requiring changes to statutes governing the North Carolina Medical Board and emergency medical services. In addition, the legislature offered a significant proposal this session that would require a large-scale review and assessment of the state’s public health system and the implementation of a statewide plan for the delivery of public health services. 

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.