You asked for information on a local health department’s authority to adopt regulations, require licenses for certain activities, impose fees for such licenses, and establish penalties for noncompliance. You are particularly interested in local health departments’ regulatory activities concerning food establishments, and barbershops and beauty salons.

SUMMARY

While local health departments are entities separate from the Department of Public Health, they are linked with the state department in a number of ways. In particular, they have legal authority to levy fines and penalties for public health violations and can grant and rescind license permits, such as for food service establishments as provided in the Public Health Code. The law explicitly allows district health departments to adopt reasonable rules and regulations for promoting general health within the district not in conflict with law or the Public Health Code. Towns, cities, and boroughs have the power to adopt, by ordinance, sanitary rules and regulations as long as they are not inconsistent with the health code.

BACKGROUND

In Connecticut, ultimate responsibility for the overall protection of the public health falls to the Department of Public Health (DPH) commissioner. The commissioner has authority over local health directors. He is required to assist and advise local health departments (“LHDs,” which include municipal health authorities and district departments of health) in performing their duties and may require the enforcement of any law, regulations, or ordinance relating to public health (CGS § 19a-2a).

Currently, Connecticut has 91 LHDs; 49 are full-time and 42 are part-time. The full-time departments include 30 individual municipal health departments and 19 health district departments (which contain from between two to 18 towns). Full-time departments serve approximately 3. 1 million people or 90% of the state’s population.

LHDs are governmental entities separate from DPH, but are linked by statute in several ways:

1. approval of appointments of directors of health by the commissioner;

2. mandates to carry out critical public health functions in the areas of infectious disease control in the community, environmental health, etc. ;

3. legal authority to levy fines and penalties for public health violations, and to grant and rescind license permits (such as for food service establishments (see below) or septic systems); and

4. funding to carry out the full array of public health activities to improve the health of people in their jurisdictions.

Municipal health authorities and districts must include in their responsibilities the enforcement of the state Public Health Code as required by DPH.

More detail is available at http: //www. han. ct. gov/local_health/.

STATUTORY AUTHORITY OF LHDs

Municipal Health Departments

A municipal health department director “shall have and exercise within the limits of the city, town, or borough for which such director is appointed all powers necessary for enforcing the general statutes, provisions of the Public Health Code relating to the preservation and improvement of public health and preventing the spread of disease therein” (CGS § 19a-200(a)). Municipal health directors, or their authorized agents, must examine all nuisances and sources of filth injurious to the public health, have such nuisances abated, and have all filth removed that in their judgment may endanger the public health (§ 19a-206(a)).

A municipal health director has and must exercise all the power for preserving the public health and preventing the spread of disease (§ 19a-206(d)). He or his authorized agents, or the board of health must enforce or assist in enforcing the Public Health Code and regulations adopted by the DPH commissioner. Towns, cities, and boroughs may retain the power to adopt, by ordinance, sanitary rules and regulations, but they cannot be inconsistent with the Public Health Code (§ 19a-207).

District Departments of Health

Towns, cities and boroughs may unite to form district departments of health by vote of their respective legislative bodies, or join an existing district health department with the approval of the district’s board. The district’s affairs must be managed by a board, which has all the duties exercised or performed immediately prior to the effective date of the district’s creation by the municipalities’ directors or boards of health. The district must exercise all the authority related to public health required of or conferred upon the constituent municipalities by law. (§ 19a-241(a)).

Each district board may adopt reasonable rules and regulations for promoting general health within the district not in conflict with law or the Public Health Code. The district’s powers include the following: ((1) sue and be sued; (2) make and execute contracts and other instruments necessary or convenient to exercising the district’s powers; (3) make, amend or repeal bylaws, rules, and regulations; (4) acquire real estate; (5) provide for financing the district’s programs, projects, or other functions; and (6) such other necessary powers to properly carry out its powers as an independent government entity (§ 19a-243(a)).

CERTAIN ACTIVITIES OF LHDs

Restaurant Inspection and Licensing

LHDs have the authority under the Public Health Code to inspect and license food establishments (see DPH Regs. § 19-13-B42). Food service establishments must be inspected by the local health director or district, registered sanitarian, or an authorized agent of the health director, if the director, sanitarian, or agent has been certified by the DPH commissioner (Regs. /Code § 19-13-B42(t)). They must be allowed to enter, at any reasonable time, to inspect and determine compliance with the code. They have the authority, after an inspection, to order the correction of any violations and specify times for correction (§ 19-13-B42 (u)).

The Public Health Code provides that no person or firm may operate a place where food or beverages are served to the public without local permits or licenses if local ordinance requires them (§ 19-13-B42(s)).

Barbershops and Beauty Salons

DPH used to inspect barber shops and beauty salons but discontinued its program in 1984. After that time, a number of LHDs (both municipal and district health departments) adopted local regulations or ordinances providing for the licensing and inspecting of such facilities. (We have attached examples from a variety of municipalities and districts around the state. ) Generally, the purpose of such local regulation is described as “safeguarding the health and well-being of persons who patronize barbershops and hairdressing and cosmetology shops” (see Stamford, for example). Such inspections may include a check to see that the staff is properly licensed as well as to ensure that the business is clean and properly maintained. Regulations also address the cleaning and sanitizing of equipment used in the shop.

PA 01-4, June Special Session, requires local health directors to inspect all barber, hairdressing, and nail salons annually concerning their sanitary conditions. The local director is authorized to collect a reasonable fee of up to $ 100 per salon, which must be used to cover the cost of the inspection notwithstanding any municipal charter, home rule ordinance or special act. If, after an inspection, the salon is found to be in an unsanitary condition, the health director must make a written order that the salon be made sanitary (CGS § 19a-231).

It should be noted that another statute (CGS § 19a-241) requires DPH to inspect all barber shops and barber schools concerning their sanitary condition whenever DPH deems it necessary. And a similar provision requires DPH to inspect all hairdressing shops for their sanitary condition when deemed necessary by the department (§ 20-258).

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