Chap. 340.—An ACT to amend and re-enact sections 5, 6 and 7 of an act
entitled an act providing for the appointment of a State board of health
and of local boards, defining the duties and powers and compensation
thereof, and of their members, officers and agents in connection with the
preservation of public health, and prosecuting penalties against wit-
nesses failing to obey subpoenas issued by said State board of health,
or any authorized member thereof, for refusing to testify or otherwise
acting in contempt of said board or its duly authorized members, ap
proved March 7, 1900, and as amended by an act approved February 27,
1904, and providing how county boards of health constituted and ap
pointed, and when State board of health may perform duties of local

boards.
Approved March 17, 1910.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That an act to
amend and re-enact sections five, six and seven of an act entitled an act
providing for the appointment of a State board of health and of local
boards, defining the duties and powers and compensation thereof, and of
their members, officers and agents in connection with the preservation
of public health, and prosecuting penalties against witnesses failing to
obey subpoenas issued by said State board of health, or any authorized
member thereof for refusing to testify or otherwise acting in contempt of
said State board or its duly authorized members, approved March sev-
enth, nineteen hundred, and as amended by an act approved February
twenty-seventh, nineteen hundred and four, and providing how county
boards of health constituted and appointed, and when State board of
health may perform duties of local boards, be amended and re-enacted
so as to read as follows:

§5. The State board of health shall, at their next annual meeting,
and annually thereafter, appoint three regularly licensed physicians of
each county or corporation, who shall, with the clerk of the county and
chairman of the supervisors or the mayor of the corporation, as the
case may be, constitute a county, town or city board of health: provided,
however, that where the charter of any city or town already provides for
the creation of a board of health the provision of this section of this act
shall not apply. The chairman of the board of supervisors shall act as
the president of the board of health, and the mayor as the president of
the board of health of such city or town. Each local board of health
shall elect from its members a secretary, who shall be a physician, and
who shall serve one year, or until his successor is appointed, but who may
be removed for cause by a majority vote of the board. Such local boards
of health shall have charge of the sanitary affairs of the respective cities,
counties or towns for which they are appointed, and shall, subject to the
provisions of this act, have control of the prevention and eradication of
contagious and infectious diseases, the removal and quarantine of sus-
pects; may provide for compulsory vaccination, the prevention, restric-
tion and care of smallpox and other contagious: or infectious diseases,
and shall, with the consent or the board of supervisors of the county or
the council of the city or town, as the case may be, fix the compensation
for the officers or agents employed in discharging such duties as shall
see to the abatement of nuisances.

They shall likewise have power to adopt and enforce such reasonable
rules and regulations as they may deem necessary to attain these ends;
but such rules and regulations shall be published once a week for two
successive weeks in some newspaper published in such county, or if there
be none, such rules and regulations shall be posted for two weeks at the
county courthouse and in three different places in each magisterial dis-
trict of such county: provided, however, that in cases of epidemics, rules
and regulations for suppressing the same shall immediately become
effective.

It shall be unlawful for any person to violate any rules or regulations
which may have been promulgated by any duly constituted board of
health, and upon conviction of the person so offending he shall be pun-
ished by a fine of not less than ten dollars nor more than fifty dollars
for the first offense, and not less than twenty-five dollars nor more than
one hundred dollars for each subsequent offense.

§6. When State board to perform duties of local board; expenses.—If
any city, town or county authorized by law to appoint a local board of
health or health officer shall omit to do so, the State board of health may
exercise the authority and perform the duties of such local board for
such city, appoint a health officer for such county, until such local board
of health be established or such health officer be regularly appointed,
whereupon the jurisdiction of the State board of health, or its officer,
conferred by this action, shall cease. The compensation of all officers
and agents appointed by the State board of health under this and sec-
tion seven of this act, and the expenses incurred by them and by the
State board in fulfilling the duties imposed by this and said section
540 ACTS OF ASSEMBLY.

seven, shall be a charge upon and be paid by the city, town or county over
which said officers are appointed, or in reference to which such expenses
are incurred. ,

§7. Duties of local authorities; when State board may take charge.
It shall be the duty of the local authorities of the cities, towns and coun-
ties of the State to report weekly to the State board of health all cases
of infectious, contagious, communicable or dangerous diseases which have
occurred under their jurisdiction, cxeept that it shall be their duty to
report immediately any case or cases of smallpox, yellow fever, cholera,
typhus fever, or bubonic plague that may occur within their jurisdic-
tions. If any case or cases of infectious, contagious, communicable or
dangerous diseases be reported as existing in any locality in the State,
the State board of health shall, as soon as possible, investigate said
disease. It shall then confer with the local health authorities and make
such suggestions as it may deem proper. If these suggestions are not
carried out, and the disease is, in the judgment of the State board of
health, in danger of spreading to another city, town or county, the said
State board of health, or its executive officer, subject to the action of
said board, shall have the right to assume exclusive control of the disease,
the isolation thereof, and the quarantine of suspects, and have such
powers in connection therewith as are conferred by law on the local
health authorities, and the said executive officer may make and enforce
such regulations as he may deem proper, subject to the action of said
board, to stamp out or prevent the further spread of the disease. He
may also, subject to the action of said board, appoint such officers and
agents as he may deem necessary to accomplish such, and fix their duties
and compensation. The officers and agents so appointed shall be duly
sworn, and shall have the power to make arrests and to exercise all the
other powers of police or constables. All the powers herein conferred
upon the secretary shall be exercised by him in subordination to and
subject to the action of the State board itself, which is hereby invested
with full power in the premises to make such regulations and take such
action as may in its judgment be necessary to regulate, control, and
eradicate all such contagious diseases.