Section 1200-14-04-.06 - PETITION TO THE COURT FOR A PUBLIC HEALTH MEASURE(1) To protect the public against a disease that poses a health threat to others, the Commissioner or health officer shall have the authority to file a petition for relief in the form of a public health measure with the General Sessions Court in the county where the carrier lives or is to be found, or where the premises is located, setting forth in an affidavit the specific facts upon which the order is sought and what type of relief is sought. The Department shall have the burden of proving that reasonable cause exists, based on sound clinical or epidemiological evidence, to believe that there is a substantial likelihood that the carrier or premises poses a health threat to others by clear and convincing evidence.(2) The petition shall set forth the grounds and underlying facts that demonstrate the carrier or premises poses a health threat to others, the proposed public health measure is the least restrictive alternative, and the type of relief sought. Public health measures may include, but are not limited to, the following:(a) participation in a designated education program or a designated counseling program;(b) notification of the carrier of appearance of the carrier before designated health officials for verification of carrier status or infectiousness, testing, treatment, or other purposes consistent with monitoring or communicable disease control;(c) medical tests and examinations necessary to verify carrier status or infectiousness or for diagnosis, treatment, or confirmation of compliance with therapy;(d) medically-accepted treatment necessary to make the carrier noninfectious or completion of the full course of a medically-accepted treatment program of sufficient duration to render the carrier noninfectious and to be curative;(e) ceasing and desisting the actions or conduct that constitutes a health threat to others;(f) living part time or full time in a setting supervised by the Commissioner for a designated period of time and under designated conditions;(g) commitment to the custody of the Commissioner for placement in an appropriate institutional facility or other supervised living situation for a designated period and under designated conditions until the carrier is made noninfectious or until released based on a determination by the Chief Medical Officer, or the Chief Medical Officer's physician designee, that the carrier is appropriate for release to continue treatment as a voluntary patient in an approved health care facility or other appropriate supervised setting, whichever occurs first, unless good cause is shown for continued commitment;(h) commitment to the custody of the Commissioner for placement in an appropriate institutional facility or other supervised living situation for a designated period and under designated conditions until the carrier completes the full course of a medically-accepted curative treatment program or until released based on a determination by the Chief Medical Officer or his/her physician designee that the carrier is appropriate for release to continue the treatment program in a less restrictive setting, whichever comes first;(i) preventing or restricting access to premises for such time as is necessary to prevent the spread of a disease that poses a health threat to others; and/or(j) requiring tests or examinations on premises to determine the source or cause of a disease that may pose a health threat to others.(3) The hearing on the petition for a public health measure shall not be set prior to five (5) days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal State holidays, from the date the petition is served without the consent of the affected person. The notice of hearing shall contain the following information:(a) the time, date, and place of the hearing;(b) the person's right to appear at the hearing and to subpoena, present and cross-examine witnesses;(c) the person's right to have a personally-selected physician perform an examination and the right to review the results of any examination or test being used to support the petition; and(d) the person's right to counsel, including the right, if indigent, to counsel appointed by the court.(4) A person may appeal an adverse General Sessions Court decision or file a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in a court of competent jurisdiction or the Department may appeal the General Sessions Court decision; however, the person's status as determined by the General Sessions Court shall remain unchanged and any remedy or relief ordered by the court shall remain in force while the appeal or writ of habeas corpus is pending.Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1200-14-04-.06
Original rule filed January 11, 1994; effective March 27, 1994. Repeal and new rule filed March 30, 2004; effective July 29, 2004.Authority: T.C.A. §§ 4-3-1803(1), (3), (4), and (10), 4-5-202, 68-1-103, 68-1-104, 68-1-201, and 68-5-104.