56-1003. POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE DIRECTOR. The director shall have the following powers and duties:

(1) All of the powers and duties of the department of public health, the department of health, the board of health and all nonenvironmental protection duties of the department of health and welfare are hereby vested to the director of the department of health and welfare. Provided however, that oversight of the department and rulemaking and hearing functions relating to public health and licensure and certification standards shall be vested in the board of health and welfare. Except when the authority is vested in the board of health and welfare under law, the director shall have all such powers and duties as may have been or could have been exercised by his predecessors in law, including the authority to adopt, promulgate, and enforce rules, and shall be the successor in law to all contractual obligations entered into by predecessors in law. All rulemaking proceedings and hearings of the director shall be governed by the provisions of chapter 52, title 67, Idaho Code.

(2) The director shall, pursuant and subject to the provisions of the Idaho Code, and the provisions of this chapter, formulate and recommend to the board rules, codes and standards, as may be necessary to deal with problems related to personal health, and licensure and certification requirements pertinent thereto, which shall, upon adoption by the board, have the force of law relating to any purpose which may be necessary and feasible for enforcing the provisions of this chapter including, but not limited to, the maintenance and protection of personal health. Any such rule or standard may be of general application throughout the state or may be limited as to times, places, circumstances or conditions in order to make due allowance for variations therein.

(3) The director, under the rules, codes or standards adopted by him, shall have the general supervision of the promotion and protection of the life, health and mental health of the people of this state. The powers and duties of the director shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

(a) The issuance of licenses and permits as prescribed by law and by the rules of the board;

(b) The supervision and administration of laboratories and the supervision and administration of standards of tests for environmental pollution, chemical analyses and communicable diseases. The director may require that laboratories operated by any city, county, institution, person, firm or corporation for health or environmental purposes conform to standards set by the board of health and welfare and the board of environmental quality;

(c) The supervision and administration of a mental health program, which shall include services for the evaluation, screening, custody and treatment of the mentally ill and those persons suffering from a mental defect or mental defects, and services for the prevention of suicide;

(d) The enforcement of minimum standards of health, safety and sanitation for all public swimming pools within the state;

(e) The supervision and administration of the various schools, hospitals and institutions that were the responsibility of the board of health;

(f) The supervision and administration of services dealing with the problems of alcoholism including, but not limited to, the care and rehabilitation of persons suffering from alcoholism;

(g) The establishment of liaison with other governmental departments, agencies and boards in order to effectively assist other governmental entities with the planning for the control of or abatement of health problems. All of the rules and standards adopted by the board shall apply to state institutions;

(h) The supervision and administration of an emergency medical service program including, but not limited to, assisting other governmental agencies and local governmental units, in providing first aid emergency medical services and for transportation of the sick and injured;

(i) The supervision and administration of administrative units whose responsibility shall be to assist and encourage counties, cities, other governmental units, and industries in the control of and/or abatement of health problems; and

(j) The enforcement of all laws, rules, codes and standards relating to health.

(4) The director, when so designated by the governor, shall have the power to apply for, receive on behalf of the state, and utilize any federal aid, grants, gifts, gratuities, or moneys made available through the federal government.

(5) The director shall have the power to enter into and make contracts and agreements with any public agencies or municipal corporations for facilities, land, and equipment when such use will have a beneficial, recreational, or therapeutic effect or be in the best interest in carrying out the duties imposed upon the department.

The director shall also have the power to enter into contracts for the expenditure of state matching funds for local purposes. This subsection will constitute the authority for public agencies or municipal corporations to enter into such contracts and expend money for the purposes delineated in such contracts.

(6) The director is authorized to adopt an official seal to be used on appropriate occasions, in connection with the functions of the department or the board, and such seal shall be judicially noticed. Copies of any books, records, papers and other documents in the department shall be admitted in evidence equally with the originals thereof when authenticated under such seal.

(7) The director, under rules adopted by the board of health and welfare, shall have the power to impose and enforce orders of isolation and quarantine to protect the public from the spread of infectious or communicable diseases or from contamination from chemical or biological agents, whether naturally occurring or propagated by criminal or terrorist act.

(a) An order of isolation or quarantine issued pursuant to this section shall be a final agency action for purposes of judicial review. However, this shall not prevent the director from reconsidering, amending or withdrawing the order. Judicial review of orders of isolation or quarantine shall be de novo. The court may affirm, reverse or modify the order and shall affirm the order if it appears by a preponderance of the evidence that the order is reasonably necessary to protect the public from a substantial and immediate danger of the spread of an infectious or communicable disease or from contamination by a chemical or biological agent.

(b) If the director has reasonable cause to believe a chemical or biological agent has been released in an identifiable place, including a building or structure, an order of quarantine may be imposed to prevent the movement of persons into or out of that place, for a limited period of time, for the purpose of determining whether a person or persons at that place have been contaminated with a chemical or biological agent which may create a substantial and immediate danger to the public.

(c) Any person who violates an order of isolation or quarantine shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

(8) The director shall develop safeguards necessary to ensure the security of nonpublic personal information in the department’s possession and to prevent undue disclosure of such information. The director shall establish a process to authenticate requests made by a person, entity or jurisdiction arising under the 2007 Hague Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance. In the event the department becomes aware of any improper disclosure, the director shall take all actions required under section 28-51-105, Idaho Code.

History:

[56-1003, added 2000, ch. 132, sec. 38, p. 347; am. 2003, ch. 240, sec. 2, p. 620; am. 2006, ch. 416, sec. 1, p. 1282; am. 2015, 1st E.S., ch. 1, sec. 67, p. 33; am. 2016, ch. 97, sec. 1, p. 293.]