Public health authority refers to the legal powers that enable governmental public health to take actions to protect and promote public health, safety, and welfare. Public health departments get authority from laws and policies, and they use laws and policies to implement their mission.
So, how can public health practitioners, policymakers, and community partners better understand and apply public health legal authority in ways that prioritize effectiveness, fairness, and accountability to community priorities?
Our new resource, Public Health Legal Authority for Good, is an actionable, research-informed roadmap that collects laws and policies from a range of US jurisdictions, all related to establishing and exercising local and state public health authority effectively and fairly. It includes links to research supporting the use of these legal strategies to improve public health.
This roadmap is the result of collecting and synthesizing findings from conversations with staff and advocates from all over the country; reports and calls-to-action for investing in an improved public health system; and research identifying trends in public health authority via legislatures and the courts, with support from the Act for Public Health initiative.
10/1/2025