Welch's public health bill stands before state Senate

Public health legislation co-authored by State Rep. Peggy Welch, D-Bloomington, now stands before the state Senate awaiting a committee hearing. The bill, which outlines rules for quarantines, passed the House 69-28.\nWelch's bill empowers public health authorities to isolate and restrict the movement of individuals exposed to a communicable disease and establishes a procedure for local government officials to issue or obtain quarantine orders.\n"The threat of a pandemic illness, such as avian flu, has pressed Indiana to have a solid plan in place to handle health disasters," Welch said.\nHouse Bill 1235 makes it a Class A misdemeanor, which carries the highest legal penalty short of a felony, to violate any quarantine put in place. Violators would face up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $5,000.\nThe bill ensures isolation "in the least restrictive manner" upon evidence of exposure, according to the General Assembly's legislative digest.\n"It is hard to tell someone that you cannot leave an area for a certain period of time with no contact with family and friends," Welch said. "However, a quarantine may be needed for the person and the general public's protection."\nWelch's bill also provides immunity from civil liability for medical practices and health care facilities in the event of a disaster. Under what is commonly known as "Good Samaritan" protection, people or facilities meeting certain criteria are shielded from any lawsuits resulting from "an act or omission in providing health care services," according to the bill's wording. \nIn hailing the bill's passage, Welch cited her experience volunteering as a nurse along the Mississippi Gulf Coast in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. \n"This language is needed for Indiana in the case of a disaster such as an earthquake," Welch said. "Hurricane Katrina has taught us that we need to be prepared."\nWelch co-authored the bill with Rep. William Ruppel, R-North Manchester, and it passed the Republican-controlled House with bipartisan support.\n"Public health should always be a key concern," Ruppel said. "We need to always look out for what is best for the public and do all that is necessary to ensure that their health and needs are at the top of our list of priorities." \nThe legislation now stands on the docket of the state Senate Committee on Judiciary, where it is sponsored by Sen. Patricia Miller, R-Indianapolis, and Sen. Billie Breaux, D-Indianapolis. John Schorg, a House Democrats' spokesman, said the Senate is currently tinkering with the wording.\nThe exact mechanics of the quarantine procedure will have to be threshed out, Schorg said, before the bill comes up for a committee hearing.