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. 2023 Mar;113(3):288-296.
doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2022.307214.

Trends in US State Public Health Emergency Laws, 2021-2022

Elizabeth Platt  1 , Katie Moran-McCabe  1 , Amy Cook  1 , Scott Burris  1
Affiliations

Trends in US State Public Health Emergency Laws, 2021-2022

Elizabeth Platt et al. Am J Public Health. 2023 Mar.

Abstract

Objectives. To identify and categorize US state legislation introduced between January 1, 2021, and May 20, 2022, that addresses emergency health authority. Methods. We adapted standard policy surveillance methods to collect and code state bills and enacted laws limiting or expanding the emergency public health authority of state and local officials and agencies. Results. State legislators introduced 1531 bills addressing public health authority; 191 of those were enacted in 43 states and the District of Columbia, including 17 expanding and 65 contracting emergency authority, 163 regulating use, and 30 preempting local use of specific measures such as mask mandates. Conclusions. State laws setting the scope and limits of emergency authority are crucial to effective public health response. These laws are changing in ways that threaten to reduce response capacity. Tracking changes in health law infrastructure is important for evaluating changes in health authority and ensuring that stakeholders recognize these changes. Public Health Implications. The COVID-19 pandemic called for quick, decisive action to limit infections, and when the next outbreak hits, new laws limiting health authority will make such action even more difficult. (Am J Public Health. 2023;113(3):288-296. https://doi.org/10.2105/10.2105/AJPH.2022.307214).

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Figures

FIGURE 1—
FIGURE 1—
Types of Limitation of Public Health Emergency Authority and Officials Subject to Them in US State Legislation: January 1, 2021–May 20, 2022
FIGURE 2—
FIGURE 2—
US States That Enacted Legislation Expanding, Restricting, or Locally Preempting Public Health Measures: January 1, 2021–May 20, 2022
FIGURE 3—
FIGURE 3—
Enacted US State Legislation Restricting Public Health Measures by State and Party Control of Legislature: January 1, 2021–May 20, 2022
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