Local Public Health Act

The Local Public Health Act outlines the shared public health responsibilities of the state and local governments in Minnesota and

• establishes accountability for funding on statewide initiatives
• provides guidelines for assessment and planning
• requires documented progress toward the achievement of statewide goals
• assigns oversight of the statewide system to the commissioner of health

The community health board is the legally recognized governing body for local public health in Minnesota, and the only governmental entity eligible for funding under the LPH Act grant. Community health boards have statutory responsibility under the LPH Act, and work in partnership with MDH to address the areas of public health responsibility.

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Summary of the Local Public Health Act (PDF): What are the "musts" and "mays" of a community health board under this statute? This document summarizes the Minnesota Local Public Health Act (Minn. Stat. § 145A).

Accountability requirements: What is required under this statute?

Related statutes: What other statutes are related to this one?

Areas of public health responsibility: What does the Local Public Health Act address?

Full Text of Minn. Stat. § 145A [non-MDH site]: View the full text of this statute.

Related

Disease prevention and control (DP&C) common activities framework: The DP&C common activities framework provide structure for detecting acute and communicable diseases, developing and implementing prevention of disease transmission, and implementing control measures during outbreaks.

Local Public Health Grant: The Local Public Health Grant provides funding to community health boards and tribal governments in Minnesota.

Local Public Health Act annual reporting: Each year, Minnesota community health boards report data on programs, activities, and resources, to help monitor the health of the state-local public health partnership.

Governance and organizational structures in Minnesota's community health boards (PDF): Minnesota Statutes identify two governing structure options for counties and cities to legally organize themselves to do the work of public health: community health boards (under Minn. Stat. § 145A) or human services boards (under Minn. Stat. § 402). Multi-county community health boards are formed through joint powers agreements, which allow them to work across geo-political boundaries.