Bill > S1704

Introduced Session

This bill would permit the governing body of a municipality having a population of 30,000 or less, to serve as the municipal board of health. Under current law, every municipality is required to have a board of health. Currently, the township committee members of municipalities that are townships and have a population of not more than 20,000 residents are permitted to serve as the municipal board of health. The sponsor believes the option of having a municipal governing body serve as the municipal board of health should be available to municipalities that are not townships, because some municipalities, particularly smaller ones, are encountering difficulty finding volunteers to serve on local boards and commissions, including local boards of health. Also, increasing the current population limit for townships to 30,000 or less, and applying that population limit to all municipalities, would permit municipal governing bodies even more flexibility in meeting the important statutory requirement that all municipalities have a board of health to protect the health, safety, and welfare of municipal residents. The bill would also ratify, validate, and confirm all proceedings had, or actions taken, prior to the effective date of the bill by a municipal board of health comprised of the members of the municipality's governing body, notwithstanding that statutory law at the time of the proceedings had, or actions taken, did not expressly permit municipal boards of health to be comprised of the members of the municipal governing body.

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Steven Oroho (R)*, 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee (on 02/05/2018)