CHAPTER 327.
OF BOARD OF HEALTH.
AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 642, VOLUME 19, LAWS OF DELAWARE, ENTITLED "AN ACT TO ESTABLISH- A STATE BOARD OF HEALTH FOR THE STATE OF DELAWARE, CHAPTER 21, VOLUME 16, AS AMENDED," BY GRANTING ADDITIONAL POWERS TO THE BOARD OF HEALTH OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Delaware in General Assembly met:
Section 1. That Section 1 of Chapter 642, Volume 19, Laws of Delaware, be and the same is hereby amended by inserting in the fifteenth line of said Section r, between the word "years" and the Word "vacancies" the following:
"Provided, however, any delay in the appointment of a successor to any member whose term shall have expired shall not create a vacancy, but such member shalt continue to serve as a member of said Board of Health until his successor is duly appointed and qualified."
Section 2. That Section 2 of said Chapter and Volume be and the same is hereby further amended by inserting in the fourteenth line of said Section 2, between the word "paid" and the word "the" the following:
"Provided, however, nothing contained in this Section shall be so construed as to prevent the said Board of Health from employing any of its' members or any other person or persons for special service at a reasonable compensation."
Section 3. That Section 3 of said Chapter and Volume be and the same is hereby amended by striking out all of said Section 3 between the word "said" in the first line of said Section 3 and the word "and" in the twenty-first line of said Section, it being the second word in said line, and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
"Board of Health of the State of Delaware shall have supervision of all matters relating to the preservation of the life and health of the people of the State. The said Board of Health shall have supreme authority in matters of quarantine, and may declare and enforce such quarantine, when necessary, and where no quarantine exists; may modify, relax, or abolish it, where it has been established. The said Board of Health of the State of Delaware may make special or standing orders or regulations for the prevention of the spread of contagious or infectious diseases, and for governing the receipt and conveyance of the remains of deceased persons, and such other sanitary matters as admit of and may best be controlled by a universal rule. The said Board of Health may also make and enforce orders in local sanitary matters, when in the judgment of the said State Board of Health, or its Executive Officer, an emergency concerning the public health exists, and the local Boards of Health have neglected or refused to act with sufficient promptness or efficiency, or when or where such local board has not been established, and all such expenses so incurred shall be paid by the city, town or county for which services are rendered upon bill presented to the treasurer of such city, county or town by the Secretary of the said Board of Health of the State of Delaware, and approved by the President thereof.
It shall be the duty of all local Boards of Health, health authorities and officials, officers of the State and County institutions, police officers, sheriffs, constables, and all other officers and employees of the State, or of any county, city, or town thereof to enforce such quarantine and sanitary rules and regulations as may be adopted by the Board of Health of the State of Delaware, and in the event of failure or refusal on the part of any member of said local boards or other officials, or persons mentioned in this Section so to act, he or they shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall pay a fine of not more than fifty dollars for the first offense and not more than one hundred dollars for the second and each succeeding offense. The said Board of Health of the State of Delaware shall make careful inquiry as to the cause of disease, especially when contagious, infectious, epidemic or endemic, and take prompt action to control and suppress it. The reports of births and deaths, the sanitary condition and effects of localities, employments, the personal and business habits of the people, the relation of the diseases of beasts and man shall be subjects of careful study by the said Board of Health; and it may make and execute orders necessary to protect the people against diseases of the lower animals. It shall collect and preserve such information in respect to such matters and kindred subjects as may be useful in the discharge of its duties, and for dissemination among the people. It shall also encourage the establishment of local Boards of Health."
Section 4. That Section 7 of said Chapter and Volume be and the same is hereby amended by striking out in the ninth line of said Section the words "one thousand," and inserting in lieu thereof the words "twenty-five hundred."
Section 5. That said Section 7 of said Chapter and Volume be and the same is hereby further amended by striking out in the nineteenth line of said Section the words "one thousand" and inserting in lieu thereof the words "three thousand."
Section 6. That said Chapter and Volume be and the same is hereby further amended by adding the following, which shall be and is hereby declared to be Section 11 of said Chapter and Volume:
"That it shall be the duty of the Boards of Health authorities, and of physicians in rural districts or other localities where there are no health officials, to report to the Board of Health of the State of Delaware, the existence of any case of contagious or infectious diseases which may come under their observation; and when any contagious or infectious disease shall become or threaten to become epidemic, and the local authorities shall neglect or refuse to enforce efficient measures for its prevention, the Board of Health of the State of Delaware, or the Secretary thereof as its executive officer on the order of the President of said Board, may appoint a medical or sanitary officer and such assistants as the said Board or the Secretary thereof may require, and authorize, such medical or sanitary officer, to enforce such orders or regulations as the said Board or its Executive officer may deem necessary."
Section 7. That said Chapter and Volume he and the same is hereby further amended by adding the following, which shall be and is hereby declared to be Section 12 of said Chapter and Volume: "That all prosecutions and proceedings instituted by the Board of Health of the State of Delaware for the violation of any of the provisions of this Act or of the Act hereby amended, or any other law or laws to be enforced by the said Board of Health, or for the violation of any order or regulations of the said Board of Health shall be instituted by the Secretary thereof on the order of the President of said Board; and all laws prescribing the modes of procedure and penalties or judgments applicable to local Boards of Health shall apply to the Board of Health of the State of Delaware and the violation of its laws or orders; and all fines or judgments collected or received shall be paid over to the State Treasurer and applied to the General Fund of the State."
Approved March 19, A. D. 1903.