Yellowstone Public Radio’s Kayla Desroches (deh-ROHSH) reports the change is in response to a 2021 state law that removed that power from health boards and officers following frustration over mask mandates and other public orders.
Representatives from Yellowstone County, Billings and Laurel signed a memorandum of understanding at the end of the year to establish a Local Governing Authority made up of council and commission members from each of the three communities.
The group will sign off on some public health decisions, an extra step that county health officer John Felton says at first he was concerned could delay emergency orders.
“To make sure that we locally understood what the secondary approval applied to and what it didn’t, we actually built that into the MOU,” Felton said.
Under the agreement language, the Local Governing Authority approves the appointment of a new health officer and new public health rules, but not other, more time-sensitive needs like closing an unsanitary restaurant or sale of food from a truck wreck.
Other exempt processes include permit denial following an authorized food service inspection, providing public health guidance in the case of an emerging disease and issuing quarantine orders to individuals consistent with laws and regulations.
The five-member board will consist of two Yellowstone County Commissioners, two Billings City council members, and one Laurel city council member. Each governmental body will appoint their chosen representatives.
