Carroll County bill would let commissioners set SOPs and require evaluations for local health staff; opponents warn of politicization

House Bill 1426 would let the Carroll County Board of Commissioners adopt standard operating procedures for the Carroll County Health Department and require written, annual evaluations of the deputy health officer and of local health department employees.

Sponsor Delegate Chris Tomlinson, filling in for Delegate April Rose, told the Health and Government Operations Committee on Oct. 24 that the measure does not create a new board of health but rather clarifies and formalizes oversight already in place. “Back in 1886 … the Maryland General Assembly passed … that the Board of County Commissioners … shall ex officio constitute a local Board of Health,” Tomlinson said, adding that “what this bill actually does is, it allows the, our Board of County Commissioners to establish SOPs … [and] do an annual evaluation of our deputy health officer.”

The bill would extend to deputy and other health department employees an evaluation regimen Tomlinson said already exists in statute for the health officer. He also told the committee he drafted an amendment to remove a contested section at the bottom of page 5 that would have created a county removal procedure for a health officer; he said the amendment was meant to address the Maryland Department of Health’s stated opposition.

The Department of Health opposed the bill in part because it would subject state-employed local health staff to personnel processes run by an elected body. Testifying in opposition, Dr. Saqib R. Alvi, a board-certified transfusion medicine physician and medical director for the American Red Cross, said the panel of state officials and medical experts believed subjecting state employees to another governing body’s personnel activity was “unreasonable” and would create a different personnel system for one county compared with other Maryland counties.

Tomlinson and multiple committee members said much of the public concern stemmed from confusion over the status quo. “Most of the unfavorable [emails] was about … having our commissioners serve as the Board of Health, and that's … the part that's been baffling because they've been the board of health since 1886,” Tomlinson said. He said the fiscal note for the bill estimates the county may need to add one staff position to carry out expanded evaluation duties.

Public comment read into the record by the committee chair included a Carroll County resident urging a “no” vote because the resident feared partisan control of public-health decisions. The chair read that comment aloud to show the volume and nature of local concern, but Tomlinson reiterated that the county commissioners already serve as the board of health in Carroll County and in most Maryland counties.

Committee members asked whether the evaluations are being completed under current practice and who performs them. Tomlinson said the county administrator performs evaluations of the local health officer now; the bill would place the requirement with the county commissioners acting as the county Board of Health. He told members that the county funds roughly one-quarter of the health department budget, with about half of the department’s funding from the state and about a quarter from federal sources.

No formal action or vote was recorded at the hearing. The committee concluded the public hearing portion of House Bill 1426 after testimony and questions.

Why it matters: The bill would change which local actors have explicit authority and defined duties for oversight of health department operations in Carroll County. Proponents say the measure aligns the county’s governance with the commissioners’ funding and facilities role; opponents and state officials say it risks subjecting state employees and public-health decisionmaking to local political forces.

What comes next: The committee will consider the bill and any filed amendments in subcommittee; Tomlinson said he had a proposed amendment removing language on removal of a health officer that he hoped would address state concerns.