Sec. 25. (a) A person shall not institute, permit, or maintain any conditions that may transmit, generate, or promote disease.

(b) A health officer, upon receiving a complaint asserting the existence of unlawful conditions described in subsection (a) within the officer's jurisdiction, shall document the complaint as provided in subsection (d). Upon verifying the information contained in the complaint, the health officer shall order the abatement of those conditions. The order must:

(1) be in writing;

(2) specify the conditions that may transmit disease; and

(3) name the shortest reasonable time for abatement.

(c) If a person refuses or neglects to obey an order issued under this section, the attorney representing the county of the health jurisdiction where the offense occurs shall, upon receiving the information from the health officer, institute proceedings in the courts for enforcement. An order may be enforced by injunction. If the action concerning public health is a criminal offense, a law enforcement authority with jurisdiction over the place where the offense occurred shall be notified.

(d) A complaint made under subsection (b) must include adequate details to allow the health officer to verify the existence of the unlawful conditions that are the subject of the complaint. A health officer shall provide a copy of a complaint upon request to the person who is the subject of the complaint.

(e) A person who provides false information upon which a health officer relies in issuing an order under this section commits a Class C misdemeanor.

[Pre-1993 Recodification Citation: 16-1-4-11.]

As added by P.L.2-1993, SEC.3. Amended by P.L.97-2012, SEC.16; P.L.292-2013, SEC.10.