The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-21
CAREER RULES ON APPO|NTNE POWER Explains Questions Asked By
 pr. t. H. ShoII THE CITY BACTERlOLOGIST Any Special Health Officer May Be Ap- pointed By City Authorities, But
 They Are Under Direction
 of County Board.
THE CITY BACTERlOLOGIST

torney General A. M Garber today rem
 dered an opinion to Dr. N II. Sanders.
 state health officer, in regard to the
 question of health officers, their duties
 and by whom they are appointed. 1 The question came up from Jefferson
 county, the city of Birmingham having
 bacteriologist well as a city physi-
 clan. The attorney general held in a for
 mer opinion that if the code of Birmng- 1 ham provided for a Daeteriologist the l county medical society had nothing to do with the appointment. He now holds
 that the appontive power of the meat
 and milk inspector, of the garbage and | street cleaning inspector, and of the ! plumbing and sewer inspector as well as the city bacteriologist lies in the city authorities.
 The attorney general holds that it was the intent of the state law to give the county and city boards of public health
 general control over the enforcement of
 the public health laws and general super
 vision over the sanitary conditions of the
 city. and that the enforcement of the sanitary laws is lodged in the hands of the county board of health and the city board of health officer, but, this super yisory power must be exercised through
 the medium of and in accordance with
 health laws of the municipality.
 Garber's Letter
 Following is the letter of Attorney Gen
 era Garber:
 April 20, 1908. Dr. w II. Sanders, State Health Officer, Montgomery, Ala.
 Dear Sir:-I have your communication | of April 1 requesting me to give you my 1 opinion on certain questions contained in | a letter to you from Dr. E. H. Sholl, | chairman of the committee of public | health of Jefferson county, under date 1 of March 19, a copy of which letter has l been furnished me.
 | pr. Shol calls attention to many points | of conflict and general want of co-ordi 1 nation in the various sections of the code ! of the city of Birmingham devoted to | the duties and responsibilities of the sev- l eral health and sanitary officers of the 1 city and states that this indefiniteness l and inco- coordination has resulted in fric- l tion between these city officials He fur l ther states that i've fully recognize how l the present condition has arisen; it is 1 only in the last four years that any at | tempt has been made to coordinate the | health laws of the city; it is less than l that we have had city health officer; | before that time health affairs were cha | otic and it is merely a survival Of those | former conditions which make our diifi- culties of the present" His letter em- | bodies a request for opinions from the 1 attorney general covering the whole | range of activities of the committee or public health of Jefferson county, and 1 specifically inouires where resides the | appointive power, where the supervisory | power of the city bacteriologist, of the
 meat and milk inspector, of the garbage l and street cleaning inspector and Of the | inc | It is not within my province to pass upon any conflicts which may exist in the several sections of the city code of Blr- l mingham relating to the duties of san | itary officers The adjudication Of these | conflicting provisions in the city code l should be determined by the proper city | authorities I shall attempt only to de- 1 fine the legal status of the county board | of health acting through it's committee | of public health, and of the health officer l of the city of Birmingham under the | provisions of the amendatory act ap-
 proved August 15, 1907, General Acts or | 1907, page S93).
 In an opinion delivered to you on No | yember IA 1907, I announced that it was | the duty of the county board of health to
 elect health officer for every incorpor- l ated city or town in the county. It IS not
 necessary here to elaborate the reasoning | upon which this opinion was based. | | partment of the date aforesaid
 City Bacterioloeist.
 In A letter under date of March 5. 1908. l addressed to you and involving the con | sideration of the question of the appoint l ing power of bacteriologist for the city | of Birmingham, l expressed the loliow- | ing conclusion:
 q do not think however, that the 1 health officer referred to in subdivision l yf). section 3 of the recent act can De ] construed to mean a bacterioogst Tor the
 city of Birmingham. whose duties are re- | stricted to certain investigations for the | protection of the health laws anl' | therefore. inclined to hold that if the code | of the city of Birmingham provides Tor 1 the anpointment of bacteriologist in ad- | dition 10 a city health officer and pro- l vides a salary for such special of1lcer' l that the appointing power wouiu rest Wi,n
 the city authorities, although the held ol | work of such bacteriologist would De l un5er the control and subject to the in | sraction of the county board of health. now affirm, after more extended ln- i x-estipatio of the subject, the conclusion 1 there reached It cannot with good req 1 son be asserted that the amendatory act 1 supra bestows upon the county poard oi 1 health in direct and speclhe terms au- l thoritv to elect any municipal onlcer, as l far as have been able to discover, ex- l cent a health officer for every incorpor- | ated oitv or town in the county accorulhs l to the provisions of subdivision ul or see | tion i, of the act above referred to l think the terms of this act should be coll | strued strictly and, therefore, it IS my l oninion that the "appointive power or | tbe citv bacteriologist, of the meat ana | milk inspector of the garbage and street 1 cleaning inspector, and of the plumplns 1 and sewer inspector lies in the clty au- | thorties of Birmingham as the cnarter or code of Birmingham may prescribe. l You will observe that section or .ne | act ahove named contains the following ] nrovisions under subdivision (a), (c) ana | (d): .,o oo,r- ..rhat it shall be the duty of the coun- | +v hoard of health to supervise the ad- s;,;stration of the health laws Of the ! state in their respective counties; ana to ,nS1estipate through their committees or ,,,h1ic health and health officers all nul- l sances to public health against whicn | comnlaint has been alleged and wnen- ever complaint is ascertained to De weii 1 Founded take such steps TOT the 1 abatement of the nuisance complaineo l of as the law provides; and to exercise | throupb their committees of public health l and health officers special supervlsion | over the sanitary conditions or Pup,ic | schools prisons, markets Pupiio l dairies. public slaughter pens etc'' !" ] thair respective counties"
 l So much for the duties of county poarus | fr aG