(a) Towns, cities and boroughs, by vote of their respective legislative bodies, after a public hearing, may unite to form district departments of health, which shall be instrumentalities of their constituent municipalities. The affairs of any such district department of health shall be managed by a board, which shall have all the duties exercised or performed immediately prior to the effective date of the creation of such district by directors of health or boards of health of the municipalities and which shall exercise all the authority as to public health required of or conferred upon the constituent municipalities by law and shall have the powers of the district set forth in section 19a-243. Towns, cities and boroughs may, in like manner, join a district department of health previously formed with the approval of the board of such district.

(b) Each town, city and borough, which has so voted to become a part of any such district, shall, by its board of selectmen, city council or board of burgesses, appoint one person to be a member of such board. Any town, city or borough having a population of more than ten thousand inhabitants, as annually estimated by the Department of Public Health by a method comparable or similar to that used by the United States Bureau of the Census, shall be entitled to one additional representative for each additional ten thousand population or part thereof, provided no such municipality shall have more than five representatives on a district board of health. The term of office for members of the district board of health shall be three years, except that: (1) A district board of health containing only one town may elect to have one-year or three-year terms of office, and (2) during the initial formation of a board with three-year appointments, appointments shall be so made that approximately one-third of the board shall be appointed for one year, approximately one-third appointed for two years and approximately one-third appointed for three years. Members of the district board of health shall serve without compensation but shall receive their necessary expenses while in the performance of their official duties.

(1949 Rev., S. 3877; 1959, P.A. 236; 1961, P.A. 391, S. 1; 1969, P.A. 527, S. 1; P.A. 77-598, S. 2; 77-614, S. 323, 610; P.A. 93-381, S. 9, 39; P.A. 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58; P.A. 97-96, S. 1; P.A. 99-234, S. 10, 14.)

History: 1959 act provided for annual estimate of population by state department of health rather than using last-completed U.S. census; 1961 act added description of duties and authority of board, deleted requirement that appointment by municipality be annual, provided for one rather than two appointments per town with additional representation for additional population, limited number of representatives to five and added provisions re length of terms and re reimbursement for expenses; 1969 act made provisions applicable to judges of probate serving at any time during any year after December 1, 1967, rather than to those who were subject to Sec. 45-26 before January 1, 1968, deleted other date references which prevented continued applicability of provisions, required filing of sworn statements by person ceasing to hold office and by personal representative of person who dies while holding office, specified that payments from net income are not deductible from gross income, required successors to incumbents taking office after February first file estimates of annual net income and increased penalty from 9% to 10% of deficiency amount and interest from 6% to 9%; P.A. 77-598 restated provision re admission of towns, cities and boroughs to previously formed districts, making admission contingent upon board approval rather than upon vote of municipality which formed the district originally; P.A. 77-614 replaced department of health with department of health services, effective January 1, 1979; Sec. 19-106 transferred to Sec. 19a-241 in 1983; P.A. 93-381 replaced department of health services with department of public health and addiction services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 97-96 amended Subsec. (b) to allow one- or three-year terms for single-town districts, where previously three-year terms were required; P.A. 99-234 amended Subsec. (a) by adding “which shall be instrumentalities of their constituent municipalities” after provision re formation of district departments of health and by adding “of the district” in the reference to the powers set forth in Sec. 19a-243, effective June 29, 1999.

Cited. 40 CA 501.