Zachary’s health board power-strip bill clears Health subcommittee
A streamlined version of a bill sponsored by state Rep. Jason Zachary (R-District 14, which includes Farragut) addressing the authority and powers of major metro county Boards of Health — attempting to eliminate those powers — passed the House’s Health subcommittee last week, and was due to be heard by the full House Health Committee Wednesday, March 3 (after deadline).
House Bill 7, as amended, would replace only two words in the current Tennessee Code Annotated pertaining to appointed Boards of Health, which only applies to Knox, Hamilton, Sullivan, Madison, Shelby and Davidson counties.
“It would be replacing the words ‘enforce’ and ‘adapt’ with ‘advise’ and would be moving (Boards of Health) to an advisory role only,” Zachary said in a phone interview. “It would be the first steps in taking power away from an unelected board.”
If HB 7 and its Senate counterpart SB 15 are passed by the General Assembly, those six county Boards of Health would no longer have the authority to pass or enforce regulations.
Knox County Board of Health has incrementally stepped in during what is almost one year of public reaction to the pandemic, setting guidelines and policies impacting both individuals and businesses to varying degrees as the community has attempted to minimize COVID-19’s risk and spread.
That Board has mandated masks be worn in public, has limited pubic gatherings to 10 people or less and has instituted various bar and restaurant curfews, most recently extending the latter to midnight.
Zachary has been one of the few lawmakers willing to address the power of the appointed Health Board.
“What we have is a non-elected board, which, if not checked, will have more power than the governor after the pandemic is over,” Zachary said. “When the governor ends the state of emergency he would no longer have the statutory authority to stop the actions of the unelected health board.
“If this bill does not pass, we will have a perpetual rule in Knox County of a fourth branch of government with our elected County Mayor (Glenn Jacobs) having no authority in representing the people of Knox County who elected him,” he added.
“We have to get it fixed.”
If the bill passes the House Health committee, it will then move to the House floor for a final vote.
On the state Senate side, SB 15 has been passed on second consideration and has been referred to the Senate Health and Welfare Committee.
