CHAPTER 368e
MUNICIPAL HEALTH AUTHORITIES

      Sec. 19a-202. (Formerly Sec. 19-75b). Payments to municipalities. Upon application to the Department of Public Health any municipal health department shall annually receive from the state an amount equal to one dollar and eighteen cents per capita, provided such municipality (1) employs a full-time director of health, except that if a vacancy exists in the office of director of health or the office is filled by an acting director for more than three months, such municipality shall not be eligible for funding unless the Commissioner of Public Health waives this requirement; (2) submits a public health program and budget which is approved by the Commissioner of Public Health; (3) appropriates not less than one dollar per capita, from the annual tax receipts, for health department services; and (4) has a population of fifty thousand or more. Such municipal department of health may use additional funds, which the Department of Public Health may secure from federal agencies or any other source and which it may allot to such municipal department of health. The money so received shall be disbursed upon warrants approved by the chief executive officer of such municipality. The Comptroller shall annually in July and upon a voucher of the Commissioner of Public Health, draw the Comptroller's order on the State Treasurer in favor of such municipal department of health for the amount due in accordance with the provisions of this section and under rules prescribed by the commissioner. Any moneys remaining unexpended at the end of a fiscal year shall be included in the budget of such municipal department of health for the ensuing year. This aid shall be rendered from appropriations made from time to time by the General Assembly to the Department of Public Health for this purpose.

      (P.A. 78-251, S. 3, 4, 7; P.A. 85-421, S. 1, 3; P.A. 87-414, S. 1, 3; P.A. 92-30; P.A. 93-381, S. 9, 39; P.A. 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58; P.A. 96-180, S. 57, 166; P.A. 98-250, S. 16, 39; P.A. 00-216, S. 1, 28; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-3, S. 1; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-2, S. 61; Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-3, S. 40.)

      History: Sec. 19-75b transferred to Sec. 19a-202 in 1983; P.A. 85-421 increased annual per capita payment to municipal health departments from $0.20 to $0.30; P.A. 87-414 increased the per capita payments to municipal health departments from to $0.52; P.A. 92-30 changed payment by the comptroller from September to July; P.A. 93-381 replaced department and commissioner of health services with department and commissioner of public health and addiction services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 96-180 changed "treasurer" to "State Treasurer", effective June 3, 1996; P.A. 98-250 increased the amount received from the state from $0.52 to $1.02, effective July 1, 1998; P.A. 00-216 made technical changes and increased annual per capita payment to $1.13, effective July 1, 2000; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-3 decreased annual per capita payment to $0.94, effective August 20, 2003; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-2 increased per capita payment to municipal health departments from $0.94 to $1.18 and made a technical change, effective July 1, 2007; Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-3 added Subdiv. (4) requiring that municipality have population of 50,000 or more to be eligible for state payments, effective October 6, 2009.

      Sec. 19a-202a. Requirements re municipality designating itself as having a part-time health department. Regulations. (a) Any municipality may designate itself as having a part-time health department if: (1) The municipality has not had a full-time health department or been in a full-time health district prior to January 1, 1998; (2) the municipality has the equivalent of at least one full-time employee, as determined by the Commissioner of Public Health; (3) the municipality annually submits a public health program plan and budget to the commissioner; and (4) the commissioner approves the program plan and budget.

      (b) The Commissioner of Public Health shall adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, for the development and approval of the program plan and budget required by subdivision (3) of subsection (a) of this section.

      (P.A. 98-250, S. 18, 39; P.A. 99-125, S. 3; P.A. 00-216, S. 2, 28; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-3, S. 2; Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-3, S. 39.)

      History: P.A. 98-250 effective July 1, 1998; P.A. 99-125 amended Subsec. (b)(3) to require that the municipality "annually submits a public health program plan and budget to the commissioner" rather than "develops a plan and timetable for the provision of health services", amended Subsec. (c) to change "plan and timetable" to "program plan and budget" and made technical changes; P.A. 00-216 amended Subsec. (a) to increase annual per capita payment from $0.53 to $0.59, effective July 1, 2000; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-3 amended Subsec. (a) to decrease annual per capita payment to $0.49, effective August 20, 2003; Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-3 deleted former Subsec. (a) re state payments to part-time health departments, redesignated existing Subsecs. (b) and (c) as Subsecs. (a) and (b) and made a conforming change in redesignated Subsec. (b), effective October 6, 2009.

      Sec. 19a-206. (Formerly Sec. 19-79). Duties of municipal directors of health. Nuisances and sources of filth. Injunctions. Civil penalties. Authority of town director within city or borough. Availability of relocation assistance. (a) Town, city and borough directors of health or their authorized agents shall, within their respective jurisdictions, examine all nuisances and sources of filth injurious to the public health, cause such nuisances to be abated or remediated and cause to be removed all filth which in their judgment may endanger the health of the inhabitants. Any owner or occupant of any property who maintains such property, whether real or personal, or any part thereof, in a manner which violates the provisions of the Public Health Code enacted pursuant to the authority of sections 19a-36 and 19a-37 shall be deemed to be maintaining a nuisance or source of filth injurious to the public health. Any local director of health or his authorized agent or a sanitarian authorized by such director may enter all places within his jurisdiction where there is just cause to suspect any nuisance or source of filth exists, and abate or remediate or cause to be abated or remediated such nuisance and remove or cause to be removed such filth.

      (b) When any such nuisance or source of filth is found on private property, such director of health shall order the owner or occupant of such property, or both, to remove, abate or remediate the same within such time as the director directs. If the owner of such property is a registrant, such director may deliver the order in accordance with section 7-148ii, provided nothing in this section shall preclude a director from providing notice in another manner permitted by applicable law. If such order is not complied with within the time fixed by such director: (1) Such director, or any official of such town, city or borough authorized to institute actions on behalf of such town, city or borough, may institute and maintain a civil action for injunctive relief in any court of competent jurisdiction to require the abatement or remediation of such nuisance, the removal of such filth and the restraining and prohibiting of acts which caused such nuisance or filth, and such court shall have power to grant such injunctive relief upon notice and hearing; (2) (A) the owner or occupant of such property, or both, shall be subject to a civil penalty of two hundred fifty dollars per day for each day such nuisance is maintained or such filth is allowed to remain after the time fixed by the director in his order has expired, except that the owner or occupant of such property or any part thereof on which a public eating place is conducted shall not be subject to the provisions of this subdivision, but shall be subject to the provisions of subdivision (3) of this subsection, and (B) such civil penalty may be collected in a civil proceeding by the director of health or any official of such town, city or borough authorized to institute civil actions and shall be payable to the treasurer of such city, town or borough; and (3) the owner or occupant of such property, or both, shall be subject to the provisions of sections 19a-36, 19a-220 and 19a-230.

      (c) If the director institutes an action for injunctive relief seeking the abatement or remediation of a nuisance or the removal of filth, the maintenance of which is of so serious a nature as to constitute an immediate hazard to the health of persons other than the persons maintaining such nuisance or filth, he may, upon a verified complaint stating the facts which show such immediate hazard, apply for an ex parte injunction requiring the abatement or remediation of such nuisance or the removal of such filth and restraining and prohibiting the acts which caused such nuisance or filth to occur, and for a hearing on an order to show cause why such ex parte injunction should not be continued pending final determination on the merits of such action. If the court finds that an immediate hazard to the health of persons other than those persons maintaining such nuisance or source of filth exists, such ex parte injunction shall be issued, provided a hearing on its continuance pending final judgment is ordered held within seven days thereafter and provided further that any persons so enjoined may make a written request to the court or judge issuing such injunction for a hearing to vacate such injunction, in which event such hearing shall be held within three days after such request is filed.

      (d) In each town, except in a town having a city or borough within its limits, the town director of health shall have and exercise all the power for preserving the public health and preventing the spread of diseases; and, in any town within which there exists a city or borough, the limits of which are not coterminous with the limits of such town, such town director of health shall exercise the powers and duties of his office only in such part of such town as is outside the limits of such city or borough, except that when such city or borough has not appointed a director of health, the town director of health shall, for the purposes of this section, exercise the powers and duties of his office throughout the town, including such city or borough, until such city or borough appoints a director of health.

      (e) When such nuisance is abated or remediated or the source of filth is removed from private property, such abatement, remediation or removal shall be at the expense of the owner or, where applicable, the occupant of such property, or both, and damages and costs for such abatement, remediation or removal may be recovered against the owner or, where applicable, the occupant, or both, by the town, city or borough in a civil action as provided in subsection (b) of this section or in a separate civil action brought by the director of health or any official of such city, town or borough authorized to institute civil actions.

      (f) If the order of a district department of health, formed pursuant to section 19a-241, causes the displacement of any occupant of a residential dwelling unit, the municipality in which such dwelling unit is located shall be responsible for any relocation assistance afforded to such occupant pursuant to chapter 135. The district department of health shall provide written notification to the occupant of the occupant's rights under chapter 135 at the time an order causing displacement is issued. The written notification shall include the name, address and telephone number of the person authorized by the municipality to process applications for relocation assistance afforded pursuant to chapter 135.

      (1949 Rev., S. 3850; 1959, P.A. 445; P.A. 77-465; P.A. 87-521, S. 2; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-2, S. 55; P.A. 08-137, S. 2; P.A. 09-144, S. 5.)

      History: 1959 act added provision for director of health authorizing qualified person to act; P.A. 77-465 placed previous provisions in Subsecs. (a) and (d) and added new provisions in Subsecs. (b), (c) and (e) clarifying general provisions re maintaining nuisance or source of filth injurious to public health stated in Subsec. (a) and added exception in Subsec. (d) re town health director's jurisdiction in cities or boroughs lacking health directors of their own; Sec. 19-79 transferred to Sec. 19a-206 in 1983; P.A. 87-521 amended Subsec. (a) to provide for the delegation of duties to an authorized agent and a sanitarian and to make technical changes; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-2 amended Subsecs. (a) to (c) and (e) to add references to remediation, made technical changes in Subsecs. (b) and (e) and amended Subsec. (e) to subject owners or occupants of private property to liability for remediation, where applicable; P.A. 08-137 added Subsec. (f) re relocation assistance availability when district department of health order causes displacement of occupant of residential dwelling unit, effective June 5, 2008; P.A. 09-144 amended Subsec. (b) by allowing notice to be delivered to registrant in accordance with Sec. 7-148ii.