HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHP) — The Pennsylvania Department of Health has been accused of trying to take additional powers as it proposes amendments to the code surrounding disease control and mitigation, and it’s responding to that criticism.
The controversy surrounds a 502 page proposal that’s in front of the Pennsylvania Independent Regulatory Review Commission, and Monday is the deadline for people to provide public comment on the changes.
It includes multiple amendments and changes to the Department of Health’s regulatory code focusing on communicable and noncommunicable diseases.
However, there is one section that has gotten the most criticism, an amendment to Chapter 27.60 in the DOH code.
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That amended section reads:
The Department proposes to add language in this subsection, indicating that the Department or a local health authority may enter an apartment, a building, a health care facility, a school, college or university, or other location as necessary to conduct its investigation.
Republican leaders, including House Minority Leader Jesse Topper have pointed to that section as a push from the department to enter a person’s home without a warrant.
On Face the State with Joel D. Smith, Rep. Topper said he reads it as “government overreach.”
“The Department of Health, their main mission should be to educate on best practices to practitioners, to educate and inform the public, to have these kind of police like powers from a bureaucracy like the Department of Health, I believe, infringes on constitutional rights and to something that the public simply doesn’t want to see,” said Rep. Topper.
What concerns me about all of these regulations is that I believe it far exceeds the intent of what that role should be.
The current DOH regulations were passed in 2002, and they include pieces that are similar to what the department is proposing now. It’s just in a different section of the code.
In the current code under Chapter 27.152 it reads, “A person may not interfere with or obstruct a representative of the Department or a local health authority who seeks to enter a house, health care facility, building or other premises to carry out an investigation of a case or outbreak, if the representative presents documentation to establish that he is an authorized representative of the Department or the local health authority.”
Some of the differences between what’s in the code now and what’s being proposed includes, a plan to add the words “prevention, containment, and mitigation” as additional reasons to activate the disease control measures.
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If approved it would remove wording for starting investigations that say “the Department or a local health authority may investigate any case or outbreak of disease judged by the Department or local health authority to be a potential threat to the public health.”
The DOH has also been criticized for proposed amendments involving Pennsylvania schools.
The proposal calls for schools to “allow Departmental access to students, unobstructed and in private, for the purpose of contact tracing.” The Department writes that this change would allow public health workers to prevent the spread of disease in schools.
Leader Topper spoke to CBS 21 about those changes as well, “Any time you go into the schools and talk to kids, parents need to be alerted at the very least, present at the very best. It’s the way they want to go about this, I think is not well thought out. I think they need to go back to the drawing board and start again.”
You can read the full regulatory proposals below:
DOH proposed regulationsPDF previewPreview PDF
Department of Health and Gov. Josh Shapiro Responds
CBS 21 sent the Department of Health multiple questions about the proposed changes.
Including what response it had to people who feel this is taking too much power and under what circumstances has the Department gone into a person’s home.
A spokesperson for the department responded with the following statement:
Any misconstruing of these proposed changes designed to scare Pennsylvanians is inaccurate and disingenuous.To be clear, Governor Josh Shapiro did not personally propose these updated regulations.Several years ago, the Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) transparently began the process to update a 25-year-old regulation that needs to be modernized to better support evolving public health needs and manage dangerous diseases; for example, allowing information to be submitted online, removing duplicative reporting requirements for certain professions, and making simple formatting changes to improve readability and reduce confusion about reportable diseases, infections, and conditions.Like most regulations in Pennsylvania, the Department’s proposed changes to Chapter 27 are undergoing a comprehensive review process as required by law prior to going into effect — and DOH communicated with the Legislature on these proposed changes prior to posting for public comment.We encourage Pennsylvanians to review the proposed regulations for themselves and participate in the regulatory process by providing feedback during the extended public comment period. The public comment period for the proposed regulations runs through September 21, 2026. DOH values and recognizes the importance of feedback from the public and welcomes comments from the public during this time. The Department will review and respond to all submitted comments. Pennsylvanians can submit comments on the proposed regulations via e-mail to the Pennsylvania Department of Health at RA-DHCHAPTR27PROPREG@pa.gov.
A spokesperson for Governor Josh Shapiro also responded to the proposals in a statement:
Regulatory review is an extensive process and nearly 200 regulatory packages across state agencies are currently undergoing updates. These draft Department of Health regulations are currently in the public feedback stage of that process, which includes input from stakeholders, independent regulatory review, and the Legislature. Once public comment concludes later this month, the Governor will weigh in, and the regulations will be revised accordingly.The Governor’s philosophy, which will guide the final regulations, is that public health depends on trust, and building that trust means respecting individual rights, involving parents in decisions that affect their children, and ensuring government works closely with the people it serves.
After the Monday deadline passes for the public comment the Independent Regulatory Commission will provide feedback to the Department of Health. The Department also has to respond to all submitted public comment.
Once that process is completed, the Department will submit a final-form regulations to the commission and it will vote to approve, disapprove, or request legislative review.
You can submit a public comment by sending an email to RA-DHCHAPTR27PROPREG@pa.gov.