2013 environmental health legislation

Area of Science:

• Environmental Health
• Public Policy
• Legislative Analysis

Background:

• The National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) has a sustained partnership with the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL).
• This collaboration focuses on legislative and policy matters impacting the environmental health profession.
• State legislatures are recognized as primary drivers of innovation in environmental public health programs and practices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide overviews of state legislative activity in environmental public health.
• To highlight pressing public health concerns addressed by state legislation.
• To leverage NCSL's expertise in analyzing state-level policy initiatives.

Main Methods:

• NCSL provides regular summaries of state environmental public health legislation.
• Analysis includes state and federal policies, statutes, regulations, and programs.
• Research is conducted by NCSL's Environmental Health Program staff, including Doug Farquhar and Amy Ellis.

Main Results:

• State legislatures are significant sources of new environmental public health legislation and policy.
• NEHA and NCSL have a successful history of collaboration on these issues.
• NCSL's Environmental Health Program offers policy analysis and consultation.

Conclusions:

• The partnership between NEHA and NCSL is crucial for understanding and advancing environmental public health policy.
• State-level legislative action is a critical component of environmental public health innovation.
• Continued monitoring of state legislative trends is essential for addressing public health concerns.