SS#2/SCS/SBs 12, 20, 21, 31, 56, 67, & 68 - This act modifies several provisions relating to public health. This act provides that the state, any state agency, political subdivision, county commission, county health center board, or person is prohibited from enacting, adopting, maintaining, or enforcing measures during a declared state of emergency that would restrict, directly or indirectly, the free exercise of religion. A political subdivision shall not issue a public health order of general applicability to entities within the political subdivision in response to an actual or perceived threat to public health for the purpose of preventing the spread of a contagious disease that, directly or indirectly, closes, partially closes, or restricts the operation of businesses, churches, schools, or other places of public or private gatherings for longer than 15 calendar days in a 180-day period, unless authorized as follows: (1) for a second period of an additional 15 days in the same 180-day period, upon a two-thirds vote of the political subdivision's governing body; and (2) for a final period of an additional 15 days in the same 180-day period, upon a two-thirds vote of the political subdivision's governing body.
A political subdivision shall not issue such public health orders directed to a specific business location or locations for longer than 15 calendar days in a 180-day period, unless authorized by a two-thirds vote of the political subdivision's governing body authorizing an extension or approval of a similar order for a period not to exceed 30 days. Any such order may be extended more than once.
The political subdivision's governing body shall at all times have the authority to terminate a public health order issued under this provision upon a simple majority vote. Any public health order issued shall also be accompanied by a publicly available report supporting the issuance of the order, as described in the act.
No rule promulgated by the Department of Health and Senior Services shall authorize a local public health official to create or enforce any generally applicable public health orders or to issue any order inconsistent with this act.
Additionally, this act prohibits orders, rules, or regulations promulgated by political subdivisions from: (1) restricting a person's freedom to travel interstate or intrastate or conditioning that freedom on a vaccination or state or local passport; (2) limiting or restricting consumer access to residential or business utilities during a state of emergency relating to contagious diseases; or (3) governing the number of people gathering or residing on private residential property during a state of emergency relating to public health.
Beginning January 1, 2021, this act allows a taxpayer that is a resident of a city or county that imposes one or more restrictive orders for a combined total in excess of fifteen days in a calendar year to receive a credit against property taxes owed on such affected property. A restrictive order shall be any city-wide or county-wide ordinance or order imposed by a city or county that prohibits or otherwise restricts the use of a taxpayer's non-residential real property, including, but not limited to, occupancy restrictions, but shall not include any ordinance or order prohibiting or restricting the use of a taxpayer's real property due to a violation of a public health or safety code. The amount of the credit shall be a percentage of the property tax liability that is equal to the percentage of the calendar year that the restrictions on the use of the property were in place, provided that the first fifteen total combined days of all such orders shall not count toward such calculation of the credit. A taxpayer shall pay his or her property taxes in full prior to submitting a statement to the county collector requesting the credit authorized by the act. Within thirty days of the receipt of such statement, the city or county shall issue the credit to the taxpayer. The credit authorized by this provision shall only apply to real property tax liabilities owed to a city or county imposing a restrictive order, and shall not apply to property tax liabilities owed to any other taxing jurisdiction.
No quarantine order issued by a county health board shall require, under penalty of law, that a person subject to quarantine isolate himself or herself from members of the same physical household. No such order shall require monitoring, electronic or otherwise, or require that the individual quarantine at a location other than his or her residence without his or her consent.
No public health order issued by any political subdivision, county health board, or state agency shall infringe on the parental rights of an individual, including decisions relating to the minor child's care and custody, upbringing, education, religious instruction, place of habitation, and physical and mental health care. Nothing in this provision shall be interpreted to limit the ability of such political subdivision or state agency to protect a child from child abuse or neglect. A positive test result for COVID-19 of a parent, guardian, or child shall not be the sole or determinative reason to remove a child from the care and custody of a parent or guardian.
No hospital shall adopt, and no political subdivision shall impose, any policy restricting the presence of or visitation by, in accordance with the hospital's regular visitation hours and security protocols, the following: (1) one visitor if requested by a pregnant or new mother, (2) one member of the clergy or one person ordained for religious or pastoral duties if requested by the patient or the patient's family, (3) the child's legal parent or guardian, provided such parent or guardian has either legal custody with no protective orders or unsupervised visitation, and (4) an attorney-in-fact or patient advocate.
Finally, candidates for county health board of trustees positions, under current law, are not required to run for election if the number of candidates is no greater than the number of positions to be filled. This act repeals this provision.
This act has an emergency clause.
SARAH HASKINS