-Caveat Lector-

from - http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=25993

POLICE STATE, USA

Bill would give governors absolute power

Health-emergency proposal has 'little concern' for personal liberties

By Jon Dougherty
© 2002 WorldNetDaily.com


Could state governors order the collection of all data and records on
citizens, ban firearms, take control of private property and quarantine
entire cities? The answer is yes - if governors and state legislatures
adopted a new "model" bill currently under consideration.

According to a summary of the "Model State Emergency Health Powers Act" by
the legislative research arm of the Home School Legal Defense Association -
http://www.hslda.org/ - a home-schooling rights organization, the proposed
legislation could give governors the kind of absolute power during a health
emergency once reserved only for kings, queens and dictators.

The version of the bill under consideration was drafted in October 2001,
just a month after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, by The Center for Law and
the Public's Health at Georgetown and Johns Hopkins Universities, in
collaboration with several other organizations. HSLDA, in a review of the
bill, said it was "prepared pursuant to Healthy People 2010, a Department of
Health and Human Services nationwide health-promotion agenda."

"A large initiative, Healthy People has 28 goals, ranging from improving
access to comprehensive health care services to reducing injuries and deaths
due to unintentional injuries and violence," the HSLDA analysis said. "These
28 goals give rise to over 400 objectives."

The model bill's preamble recalls the events of Sept. 11, focusing attention
on a "need to protect the health and safety of citizens from epidemics and
bioterrorism," said the analysis.

Essentially, the measure grants "emergency powers to the state governors and
public health authorities during a declared 'state of public health
emergency,'" the analysis said. Under the auspices of the bill, a "public
health emergency" is defined as:

"an occurrence or imminent threat of an illness or health condition, caused
by bioterrorism, epidemic or pandemic disease, or novel and highly fatal
infectious agent or biological toxin, that poses a substantial risk of a
significant number of human fatalities or incidents of permanent or
long-term disability. Such illness or health condition includes, but is not
limited to, an illness or health condition resulting from a national
disaster."

Authors of the measure say it was designed to facilitate the "early
detection" of health emergencies, and it "requires that comprehensive plans
be prepared in advance which would provide a coordinated response to the
health emergency. ..."

"In the event of a declared public health emergency, MSEHP grants the
governor extraordinary powers," HSLDA analysts said. "These powers include
the collection of data and records, the control of property, the management
of persons and access to communications." Powers also include "such things
as forced vaccination and treatment (Section 504), the tracking of
individuals (Section 202), access to patient records (Section 506) and the
prohibition of firearms (Section 402(c)). ..."

Some provisions of the bill require judicial review, such as a governor's
order for a mandatory quarantine of areas. For that to happen, "a written
court order must authorize the action," analysts said, "unless delay would
pose an immediate threat to the public."

Overall, however, the measure "grants enormous power to the governor in the
event of a public health emergency," said HSLDA analysts.

"A 'model' act is not nearly as threatening as an act that has been
introduced and passed or is moving through the process," Tom Washburn,
director of HSLDA's legislative arm, the National Center for Home Education.
"So I feel like there's time to correct [the bill] and make it a lot
better."

As written, Washburn said, "the measures are pretty Draconian." The worst
part of the bill, he believes, is the fact that in most instances, one
person - the governor - makes the decision to declare a health emergency.

"At the very least, there ought to be a better mechanism for figuring out if
there is a public health emergency, and get more people engaged" in making
that determination, he said.

The drafters of the bill disagree. Lawrence O. Gostin, director and
principal investigator for the Center for Law and the Public's Health at
Georgetown and Johns-Hopkins, says there are no tools on the books for
lawmakers and state chief executives to effectively deal with health
emergencies, such as bioterrorism.

"Current public health laws are too highly antiquated and inadequate to
ensure a strong and effective response to bioterrorism," Gostin said.
"Existing laws thwart public health officials in rapidly identifying and
ameliorating health threats, thus jeopardizing the public's safety."

He adds that "the nation faces a danger to its health, safety, and security
from biological agents that is unprecedented." He said the act is needed to
provide "governors and public health officials with the power to act
decisively in the event of a bioterrorist attack or emerging infectious
disease. ..."

"Professor Gostin is to be commended for not only coordinating the quick and
thorough drafting of this legislation, but also for providing an important
public service," said Judith Areen, dean of Georgetown University Law
Center. "His expertise in the area of public-health law is well-known and
respected."

Gostin served as the chairman of President and Hillary Clinton's Health Care
Task Force group on Privacy and the Health Care Infrastructure in 1993,
according to information published by Johns Hopkins.

While most Americans support the administration's efforts to track down
terrorists, clearly there is some concern that laws meant for honorable
purposes today may be abused some time down the road, under different
political circumstances.

"We should think always that every new law may be enforced by our worst
enemies," Jon B. Utley, the Robert A. Taft fellow in constitutional and
international studies at the Ludwig von Mises Institute, told WND last
October, after President Bush signed the USA Patriot Act of 2001.

The emergency health bill, Washburn added, "poses substantial threats to the
liberty and privacy of families.

"As drafted, whether these threats are justified depends upon the opinion of
only one person - the governor of a state," he said. Legislatures that may
consider the bill at some point should "work to improve the model act to
minimize the chance that a governor could make a mistake," he added.

For example, he said, state lawmakers should assess whether absolute power
should be exercised by a governor for every health emergency. "At the very
least, it should be noted that not all the powers granted apply to every
threat," Washburn said.

He also noted there appeared to be "little concern" for constitutional
liberties.

"For example, there are many people who have religious beliefs that preclude
them from taking or allowing their children to receive vaccinations," he
said.

Washburn said he didn't know how fast the legislation was moving, but
officials with Georgetown and Johns Hopkins say the bill is "on a fast
track."

"The draft has been delivered to" a host of organizations, said a Center for
Law and the Public's Health statement Oct. 30, 2001, including the Centers
for Disease Control and the National Governor's Association.

"The final product will then be ready for enactment by the state
legislatures where procedures are in place for quick passage. The
legislation is then ready for signature by governors and implementation by
state public health authorities," the statement said.

Jonathan Turley, the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George
Washington University Law School, says the measure "is a model law that is
well-intentioned but poorly executed and drafted."

"After a couple of centuries of successful democratic government, it would
appear rather late to sell citizens on the superiority of one-man rule,"
Turley wrote in a Jan. 7 column -
http://www.newsandopinion.com/jonathan/turley1.asp "However ... the best
cure for terrorism may be a small dose of tyranny."

Turley said states are "quietly" considering adoption of the measure. But,
he cautioned, "before we all bunker down under this new emergency plan, we
may want to read the fine print and consider our options."

The George Washington law professor said state governors already possess
most of the powers contained within the act. What's different, he said, "is
buried in one of its implementing provisions. ...

"For the first 60 days of a crisis, the governor of a state would hold
unchecked and unfettered power. What is most astonishing is the triggering
of this absolute authority is left entirely to the discretion of each
governor," Turley wrote.

Other analysts are also troubled by absolute power given to state governors.

"The state legislature relinquishes its power to stop overreaching by the
governor until at least 60 days after his actions," said an assessment of
the measure published by Eagle Forum -
http://www.eagleforum.org/alert/2002/health-powers-1-08-02.shtml - a think
tank that supports smaller government. "The bill wouldn't allow the governor
to be reversed just because his actions are unwarranted, oppressive or
overreacting to the threat."

"The Model Act was created at the request of the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention with taxpayer dollars," Turley said. "With little media
attention, there is a considerable danger that this act will be adopted with
little scrutiny as an 'impulse buy' item for state legislators eager to take
action against terrorism."

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