(1) The Director of Human Services shall enter into an intergovernmental agreement with each local public health authority established under ORS 431.375, delegating to the local authority the administration and enforcement within the jurisdiction of the authority of the powers, duties and functions of the Director of Human Services under ORS 624.010 to 624.121, 624.310 to 624.430, 624.650 and 624.992. The intergovernmental agreement must describe the powers, duties and functions of the local public health authority relating to fee collection, licensing, inspections, enforcement, civil penalties and issuance and revocation of permits and certificates, standards for enforcement by the local authority and the monitoring to be performed by the Department of Human Services. The department shall establish the descriptions and standards in consultation with the local public health authority officials and in accordance with ORS 431.345. The intergovernmental agreement must be a part of the local annual plan submitted by the local public health authority under ORS 431.385. The department shall review the performance of the local public health authority under any expiring intergovernmental agreement. The review shall include criteria to determine if provisions of ORS 624.073 are uniformly applied to all licensees within the jurisdiction of the local public health authority. In accordance with ORS chapter 183, the director may suspend or rescind an intergovernmental agreement under this subsection. If the department suspends or rescinds an intergovernmental agreement, the unexpended portion of the fees collected under subsection (2) of this section shall be available to the department for carrying out the powers, duties and functions under this section.
(2) A local public health authority shall collect fees on behalf of the department that are adequate to cover the administration and enforcement costs incurred by the local public health authority under this section and the cost of oversight by the department. If the fee collected by a local public health authority for a license or service is more than 20 percent above or below the fee for that license or service charged by the department, the department shall analyze the local public health authority fee process and determine whether the local public health authority used the proper cost elements in determining the fee and whether the amount of the fee is justified. Cost elements may include, but need not be limited to, expenses related to administration, program costs, salaries, travel expenses and department consultation fees. If the department determines that the local public health authority did not use the proper cost elements in determining the fee or that the amount of the fee is not justified, the department may order the local public health authority to reduce any fee to a level supported by the department’s analysis of the fee process.
(3) The department, after consultation with groups representing local health officials in the state, shall by rule assess a remittance from each local public health authority to which health enforcement powers, duties or functions have been delegated under subsection (1) of this section. The amount of the remittance must be specified in the intergovernmental agreement. The remittance shall supplement existing funds for consultation services and development and maintenance of the statewide food service program. The department shall consult with groups representing local health officials in the state and statewide restaurant associations in developing the statewide food service program.
(4) In any action, suit or proceeding arising out of local public health authority administration of functions pursuant to subsection (1) of this section and involving the validity of a rule adopted by the department, the department shall be made a party to the action, suit or proceeding. [1973 c.825 §22a; 1975 c.790 §3; 1975 c.792 §4; 1981 c.650 §5; 1983 c.370 §1; 1983 c.533 §4; 1995 c.578 §7; 2001 c.975 §8; 2003 c.309 §14; 2005 c.22 §440]
Section: Previous 624.410 624.420 624.430 624.440 624.490 624.495 624.500 624.510 624.530 624.550 624.570 624.610 624.630 624.650 624.670 NextLast modified: August 7, 2008