Purpose

• Create a new safety net for essential public health work by establishing an Essential Public Health Functions Contingency Account.
• Ensure continued performance of essential public health functions if federal funding for those functions is unexpectedly reduced or eliminated.

Key Provisions

• Essential public health functions (definition)

  • Defines essential public health functions as activities to prevent or control health threats, including investigating diseases, identifying outbreak sources, conducting laboratory testing, alerting the public and health systems about health threats, and developing activities and guidelines to prevent disease spread.
  • Includes prevention of and response to waterborne disease outbreaks, with support for public water supplies.

• Contingency account

  • Creates an Essential Public Health Functions Contingency Account in the state’s Special Revenue Fund (state treasury).
  • Money in the account does not cancel and is appropriated to the commissioner of health for the purposes described in the essential public health functions.

• Determination criteria (when funds may be used)

  • Expenditures may be made if, on or after March 1, 2025, there is an unexpected significant reduction or elimination of federal funding for one or more essential public health functions, and additional funding is necessary to continue those functions.

• Uses of funds

  • When the determination criteria are met, the commissioner may spend from the contingency account to support the essential public health functions that lost or saw reduced federal funding.

• Notice and expenditure review

  • Before spending, the commissioner must provide written notice to the chairs and ranking minority members of the legislative committees with jurisdiction over health and human services finance and policy.
  • The commissioner must seek review and recommendation from the Legislative Advisory Commission (LAC) according to the established procedure.
  • The commissioner cannot seek LAC review for expenditures made before providing the required notice.

• Reporting

  • By January 15 each year after a year in which expenditures were made from the contingency account, the commissioner must report to the legislative chairs and ranking minority members.
  • The report must include: total federal funding reduced or eliminated, the amount spent from the contingency account, the purpose of each expenditure, and any other necessary information. The report is exempt from certain public disclosure limitations.

• Fiscal note: one-time transfer

  • A one-time transfer in fiscal year 2026 from the general fund to the essential public health functions contingency account (per the relevant statutes).

Significance and What It Changes

• Establishes a new, dedicated funding mechanism (essential public health functions contingency account) to shield core public health activities from sudden federal funding losses.
• Adds a formal approval and oversight process for expenditures (notice to legislators and LAC review) to govern use of the contingency funds.
• Requires annual public reporting of how funds are used and the impact of federal funding changes on essential public health functions.
• Introduces a one-time General Fund transfer to seed the new contingency account in fiscal year 2026.

Relevant Terms

essential public health functions contingency account special revenue fund state treasury federal funding unexpected reduction/elimination of federal funding notice Chairs and ranking minority members Legislative Advisory Commission (LAC) expenditure review General Fund transfer (one-time) public health functions waterborne disease outbreaks public water supplies monitoring and reporting requirements March 1, 2025 January 15 (annual reporting deadline)