Section 16-46-10-2.2 - Funding requirements; amount; county executive duties; financial report; disbursement; ordinance; posting of positions; voting to stop funding(a) This section applies for purposes of funding beginning in the state fiscal year beginning July 1, 2023, and in each state fiscal year thereafter.(b) For purposes of this section, "SVI" means the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry social vulnerability index.(c) In order for a local board of health to be eligible to receive funding under this section, the following requirements must be met:(1) The county executive must vote to accept additional funding and to provide core public health services in the county described in subsection (e).(2) The county must provide a maintenance of effort each year according to the following: (A) In the first year a local board of health receives funds under this section, the county shall distribute funds to the local board of health in an amount that equals the average amount of funds distributed to the local board of health by the county in the immediately preceding three (3) years.(B) In each year after the first year a local board of health receives funds under this section, the county must provide an amount of funding equal to the amount determined in the last STEP of the following STEPS: STEP ONE: Determine the amount of funding the local board of health is eligible to receive under subsection (d)(1)(A) for the year.
STEP TWO: Multiply the STEP ONE result by one and twenty-five hundredths (1.25).
STEP THREE: Subtract the STEP ONE result from the STEP TWO result.
(C) The local health funding provided by a county under clauses (A) and (B) may only consist of funds attributable to taxes and miscellaneous revenue that is deposited in the county health fund, and may not include fees collected by the local health department, federal funds, or private funds.(3) The local board of health: (A) shall ensure that the core public health services are provided in the county in accordance with the financial report required by subsection (f); and(B) may employ:(i) one (1) full-time public health nurse;(ii) one (1) full-time or part-time school liaison; and(iii) one (1) part-time preparedness employee. A school liaison may be employed to partner with schools and school nurses, upon the request of a school corporation, to develop education programming concerning only nutrition, physical activity, drug prevention, tobacco and nicotine prevention and cessation, required school hearing and vision screening, dental hygiene and oral health, and first aid training.
(d) Subject to subsection (f), and subject to state appropriations, the amount of funding for which a local board of health is eligible under this section is the sum of the following: (1) A base amount equal to the greater of: (A) twenty-six dollars ($26) per capita; or(B) in the case of a county having a population:(i) greater than fifteen thousand (15,000), a minimum of four hundred fifty thousand dollars ($450,000);(ii) greater than ten thousand (10,000), and less than fifteen thousand (15,000), a minimum of four hundred thousand dollars ($400,000); and(iii) less than ten thousand (10,000), a minimum of three hundred fifty thousand dollars ($350,000).(2) In the case of a county in the highest quartile SVI or an average county life expectancy of more than two (2) years less than the statewide average life expectancy, in addition to the amount under subdivision (1), an additional five dollars ($5) per capita.(3) In the case of a county in the second highest quartile SVI or an average county life expectancy that is one (1) year or two (2) years less than the statewide average life expectancy, in addition to the amount under subdivision (1), an additional three dollars ($3) per capita.(e) A county executive that votes to accept funding described in subsection (d) shall, in collaboration with the local health board, do the following: (1) Collaborate with local entities to identify gaps in core public health services within the county.(2) Develop a health plan for the county.(3) Prepare a budget, for approval by the county fiscal body, for the use of additional funding provided under this section, including determining which core public health services are to be provided through contracts or grants with the additional funding to local entities.(f) Subject to section 3.5 of this chapter, before the first year that a local board of health wishes to receive funding under this section, the local board of health shall submit, not later than September 1, a financial report to the state department with a proposed spending plan and any additional information required by the state department. Subject to section 3.5 of this chapter, not later than June 1 of each year after the first year in which a local board of health receives funding under this section, the local board of health shall submit a financial report to the state department with an accounting of how funds were spent the previous year, a proposed spending plan for the upcoming year, and any additional information required by the state department. The financial report must be in a manner prescribed by the state department. The report shall be submitted to the state budget committee each year. State budget committee review must occur prior to the distribution of funding awards to counties provided under subsections (e) and (h).(g) The county fiscal body shall work with the local board of health in the preparation and submission of a report required under subsection (f).(h) For counties with a city health department established under IC 16-20-4-3, funding under this section shall be disbursed to the county health department. The county fiscal body and the city fiscal body shall, in good faith, enter into an interlocal agreement, in a manner prescribed by the state department, to determine the amount of funding to be disbursed to the city health department. The county health department and the city health department shall submit a joint plan to the state department that demonstrates the core public health services that will be provided by each in serving the county.(i) The county fiscal body may adopt an ordinance to allocate the funds received under subsection (h). The ordinance must provide that each local board of health in the county may receive an allocation of funds received under this section. The county fiscal body shall file a copy of the ordinance with the state department before May 1 of each year.(j) For counties that have an existing health department cooperative that was formed by an interlocal cooperative agreement before December 31, 2022, and as authorized by IC 36-1-7, funding under this section shall be disbursed to the health department cooperative. The health department cooperative shall follow the same rules and guidelines that are required by the local board of health under this section.(k) Before funds may be used to hire or contract for the provision or administration of core public health services, the local health department shall post the position or contract to the public for at least thirty (30) days.(l) A county executive may vote to stop accepting funding under this section at any time.Amended by P.L. 9-2024,SEC. 381, eff. 7/1/2024.Added by P.L. 164-2023,SEC. 43, eff. 5/4/2023.