Several Republicans are backing legislation allowing counties without their own health department to get localized information from the state Health Department.

Rep. David Zimmerman, R-New Holland, has introduced House Bill 2774 to allow counties to pass a resolution asking for communicable disease or reportable disease information inside its boundaries. The legislation states no information identifying specific county residents be released. Counties would be able to get information regarding the municipality where a communicable disease has been confirmed within 24 hours.

Zimmerman said state law places primary responsibility for the prevention and control of communicable diseases with local departments of health and with the Department of Health for those counties that do not have their own health departments.

“With only six county health departments in the Commonwealth (and one soon to be added in Delaware County), most counties fall under the Department of Health for communicable disease prevention and control,” Zimmerman wrote in his legislative memorandum. “This means that while more specific geographic information of communicable diseases is available to those areas with local health departments, those counties without local health departments do not have the ability to focus on specific areas within their jurisdictions or adequately map areas hit hardest by a communicable disease.”

Warren County and its neighbors are among the counties that don’t have a health department, though during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic county commissioners broached the idea of creating either a county Health Department or a regional health department with Venango, Crawford and Forest counties. Creating and funding a county health department would cost about $80,000 a year, according to a preliminary discussions, while a regional office would cost about $100,000 a year.

“This lack of specific data then hampers a county from being able to direct resources and form an adequate local response,” Zimmerman wrote. “While counties can elect to form their own health departments, this is very cost prohibitive for many counties, and this should not stop counties from trying to protect their citizens.”

Zimmerman’s bill has been referred to the House Health Committee, which is chaired by Rep. Kathy Rapp, R-Warren.