Enacting the constitutional right to health freedom act to regulate the activities of the secretary of health and environment related to public health functions; repealing statutes relating to the secretary's authority to quarantine individuals and impose associated penalties.
Impact
If enacted, SB391 would alter existing public health laws, especially those related to the authority of health officials to impose quarantines. The amendments proposed in the bill would limit the Secretary's ability to unilaterally direct health interventions during outbreaks, forcing most public health directives to be recommendatory rather than mandatory, which may lead to inefficiencies in managing public health crises.
Summary
Senate Bill 391, titled the 'Constitutional Right to Health Freedom Act', proposes significant changes to the authority vested in the Secretary of Health and Environment and local health officers in Kansas concerning the management of public health, specifically regarding infectious and contagious diseases. This act aims to revoke the Secretary’s power to mandate isolation or quarantine of individuals and impose associated penalties for noncompliance, thereby decentralizing public health decisions and reducing governmental control over individual health choices.
Contention
This bill has sparked a debate among legislators and public health advocates, reflecting a tension between individual rights and collective health security. Proponents argue that the bill enhances personal liberties and prevents governmental overreach during health emergencies, while critics worry that it undermines local health agencies’ ability to respond effectively to public health threats and could lead to increased disease transmission in the absence of enforceable quarantine measures.
Restricting the authority of the secretary of health and environment and local health officers to prevent the introduction and spread of infectious or contagious diseases; repealing the authority of the secretary to quarantine individuals and impose associated penalties.
House Substitute for HB 2390 by Committee on Public Health and Welfare - Requiring the secretary of health and environment to study drug overdose death cases and providing for the confidentiality of acquired and related records, restricting the authority of the secretary of health and environment and local health officers to prevent the introduction and spread of infectious or contagious diseases and repealing the authority of the secretary to quarantine individuals and impose associated penalties.
Requiring the secretary of health and environment to study drug overdose death cases and providing for the confidentiality of related records, restricting the authority of the secretary of health and environment and local health officers to control the spread of infectious or contagious diseases, repealing the authority of the secretary to quarantine individuals and impose penalties for violations thereof and prohibiting the secretary of health and environment from requiring COVID-19 vaccination for children attending a child care facility or school.
Substitute for SB 29 by Committee on Public Health and Welfare - Removing the authority of the county or joint board of health or local health officer to prohibit public gatherings when necessary for the control of infectious or contagious disease.
Enacting the conscientious right to refuse act to prohibit discrimination against individuals to refuse medical care and creating a civil cause of action based on such discrimination; repealing the authority of the secretary of health and environment to quarantine individuals and impose associated penalties.
Enacting the conscientious right to refuse act to prohibit discrimination against individuals who refuse medical care and creating a civil cause of action based on such discrimination and revoking the authority of the secretary of health and environment to quarantine individuals and impose associated penalties.
Transferring certain child care programs to the Kansas office of early childhood and separating licensing duties between the secretary for health and environment and the executive director of early childhood.
Substitute for SB 29 by Committee on Public Health and Welfare - Removing the authority of the county or joint board of health or local health officer to prohibit public gatherings when necessary for the control of infectious or contagious disease.
Requiring the secretary of health and environment to study drug overdose death cases and providing for the confidentiality of related records, restricting the authority of the secretary of health and environment and local health officers to control the spread of infectious or contagious diseases, repealing the authority of the secretary to quarantine individuals and impose penalties for violations thereof and prohibiting the secretary of health and environment from requiring COVID-19 vaccination for children attending a child care facility or school.
House Substitute for HB 2390 by Committee on Public Health and Welfare - Requiring the secretary of health and environment to study drug overdose death cases and providing for the confidentiality of acquired and related records, restricting the authority of the secretary of health and environment and local health officers to prevent the introduction and spread of infectious or contagious diseases and repealing the authority of the secretary to quarantine individuals and impose associated penalties.
Restricting the authority of the secretary of health and environment and local health officers to prevent the introduction and spread of infectious or contagious diseases; repealing the authority of the secretary to quarantine individuals and impose associated penalties.