Alabama § 22-2-8 - State Health Officer.

§ 22-2-8. State Health Officer.

(a) The Governor shall appoint, from a list of names submitted by the State Committee of Public Health, a physician licensed in the State of Alabama to be known as the State Health Officer. The State Committee of Public Health shall fix his or her term of office and salary. The qualifications of this individual shall be determined by the State Committee of Public Health, which, at a minimum, shall include possession of a full, active, and unrestricted license to practice medicine in this state.

(b)(1) The State Health Officer, under the direction of the State Committee of Public Health and with the approval of the State Personnel Board, shall fix the salaries of the medical employees of the State Committee of Public Health. When the State Committee of Public Health is not in session, the State Health Officer, as executive officer of the Alabama Department of Public Health, shall act for the committee and shall have and discharge all the powers and duties of the committee. The State Health Officer shall report his or her actions to the committee at its next meeting after the action is taken, and the action of the State Health Officer shall then be subject to confirmation or modification by the committee.

(2) If the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Speaker of the House of Representatives, or President Pro Tempore of the Senate determines, and at least two other of the aforementioned public officials agree, that the State Health Officer has taken an official action that exceeds the State Health Officer’s statutory authority in a manner that demonstrates a willful disregard for the office, the aforementioned public officials in agreement may jointly petition the State Committee of Public Health to determine whether the State Health Officer should be disciplined and whether the official action should be modified, reversed, or affirmed. Disciplinary action may include removal from office. This review shall be initiated within 30 days of receipt of written notice sent by certified mail to the Chair of the State Committee of Public Health.

(c) The State Health Officer shall exercise general supervision over county boards of health and county health officers and promptly report to the county boards of health any delinquencies of official duty on the part of a county health officer which may come to his or her knowledge.

(d) The State Health Officer shall stay informed with regard to an actual or potential outbreak of any disease affecting the state and, as far as authorized by law, take prompt measures to prevent an outbreak and keep the Governor and the Legislature informed as to the health conditions prevailing in the state, especially as to outbreaks of any of the diseases enumerated in Chapter 11A, and submit to the Governor and Legislature such recommendations as he or she deems proper to control, prevent, or minimize the outbreak.