Idaho Statutes

                                  TITLE  56
                        PUBLIC ASSISTANCE AND WELFARE
                                  CHAPTER 10
                       DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND WELFARE
    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;
    (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;
    (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.

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