Selected Federal Legal Authority Pertinent to Public Health Emergencies
Federal laws and legal authorities address a variety of concerns central to public health emergencies, such as emergency declarations, quarantine and isolation, liability and licensure of workers, and mutual aid, among others. Compiled by the Public Health Law Program, "Selected Federal Legal Authority Pertinent to Public Health Emergencies" is an annotated list of selected, commonly cited federal legal authorities for reference by public health officials, legal counsel, and others.

Frequently Asked Questions About Federal Public Health Emergency Law
"Frequently Asked Questions About Federal Public Health Emergency Law" was extrapolated from information provided by the faculty of the April 28, 2009 teleconference “Federal Public Health Emergency Law”. The questions and answers are grouped into four categories: legal authorities, public health emergency procedures, isolation and quarantine, and workforce issues.
 
Legal Responses to the Epidemic of Prescription Drug Overdoses in the United States
 CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control and the Public Health Law Program convened a meeting in Atlanta on December 2-3, 2008 titled “Promising Legal Responses to the Epidemic of Prescription Drug Overdoses in the United States.” The goal of the meeting was to indentify legal measures for potential adoption at the state level to help address the growing problem of prescription drug overdoses.

Click here for the proceedings of "Promising Legal Responses to the Epidemic of Prescription Drug Overdoses in the United States."

CDC Public Health Law News
The November issue of the CDC Public Health Law News is now available. For access to all archives, click here.

Legal Resources for TB Control
In consultation with the National Tuberculosis Controllers Association (NTCA), CDC's Public Health Law Program and Division of Tuberculosis Elimination have developed and sponsored development of new resources state and local TB professionals may use to assess and potentially improve use of law to control TB. All are available in the NTCA website.

Visit the TB control page for more information and access to available resources.

Arkansas Public Health Law Bench Book
The Arkansas Public Health Law Bench Book was developed by the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, William H. Bowen School of Law and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Fay W. Bozeman College of Public Health. The bench book is a resource and guide for judges and those practicing in public health. It addresses such topics as quarantine and isolation, abatement of public nuisances, and jurisdiction over public health legal issues.
Arkansas Public Health Law Bench Book


Public Health Law 101
CDC’s Public Health Law Program developed this, foundational course on public health law as a learning resource for public health practitioners, students, and others. The course comprises 9 slide lecture units for delivery to public health department professionals by legal counsel & others trained in law.
Public Health Law 101

Cross-Sector Collaboration Tools
The CDC / Bureau of Justice Assistance "Public Health and Law Enforcement Emergency Preparedness Workgroup" has released two tools designed to improve cross-sectoral and cross-jurisdictional preparedness for public health emergencies. The first, “A Framework for Improving Cross-Sector Coordination for Emergency Preparedness and Response: Action Steps for Public Health, Law Enforcement, Corrections, and the Judiciary,” details background on and opportunities for strengthening cross-sectoral and cross-jurisdictional emergency preparedness. The second is a guide for developing a memorandum of understanding for coordinated cross-sector implementation of community response measures to contagious respiratory diseases such as influenza.

See the Cross-Sector Collaboration Tools in action.

Cross-Sector Collaboration Tools
More information and available documents  
 

Public Health Emergency Legal Preparedness Clearinghouse The resources below are selected  tools developed by the CDC Public Health Law Program and partners for professionals' and policy makers' use in strengthening their organizations’ and jurisdictions’ legal preparedness for all-hazards public health emergencies.

National Action Agenda for Public Health Legal Preparedness Forensic Epidemiology 3.0 Public Health Emergency Law 3.0 Joint Public Health Law Enforcement Investigations: Model Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Coordinated Implementation of Community Response Measures (Including Social Distancing) to Control the Spread of Pandemic Respiratory Disease: A Guide for Developing an MOU for Public Health, Law Enforcement, Corrections, and the Judiciary A Framework for Improving Cross-Sector Coordination for Emergency Preparedness and Response: Action Steps for Public Health, Law Enforcement, the Judiciary, and Corrections Menu of Suggested Provisions for Public Health Mutual Aid Agreements Inventory of Mutual Aid Agreements and Related Resources Social Distancing Law Assessment Template Community Pan-Flu Preparedness: A Checklist of Key Legal Issues for Healthcare Providers Portfolio of Public Health Law Bench Books