Restore Funds-Local Health Depts.

Item 313.1 #1h

Language
Page 304, line 18, strike "($1,213,850)" and insert "($15,195)".
Page 304, line 18, strike "($2,454,835)" and insert "($162,632)".
Page 304, after line 23, insert:
"A.1.  General funds in the amount of $1,198,655 the first year and $2,292,203 the second year are provided to local health departments to eliminate proposed reductions included in House Bill 1600 of the 2001 Session, as introduced.  Funding for local health departments shall not be reduced below the level provided in Chapter 1073 of the 2000 Acts of Assembly.
2.  Funding for local health department services in the first year shall be allocated based on locality needs as determined by the Department.  Funding for local health departments provided in the second year shall be distributed according to a needs-based allocation methodology for the cooperative health department budget as recommended by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission in its January 2000 Study of the Performance and Management of the Virginia Department of Health.  In allocating these funds to local health departments, the Department shall consider both population growth and the need for public health services required by the Code of Virginia.  It is the intent of the General Assembly that these funds be matched with local appropriations based on the ability-to-pay formula."

Explanation
(This amendment restores funding to local health departments based on reductions contained in the introduced budget. Language is added to require the allocation of these funds based on needs for public health services and population growth.)