§ 23-69-2. New England compact on involuntary detention for tuberculosis control.
The New England compact on involuntary detention for tuberculosis control, hereinafter
called "the compact�, is hereby enacted into law and entered into with all other jurisdictions
legally joining therein, in the form substantially as follows:
ARTICLE I.
PURPOSE AND POLICY
The purposes of this compact are to:
(1) Promote the communicable disease health protection of the public and individuals within
the party states.
(2) Provide mutual aid and assistance in communicable disease matters, specifically tuberculosis
control, through the utilization of regional centers for the involuntary detention
of persons with tuberculosis who will not accept treatment and therefore pose a threat
to the health of the public.
(3) Encourage and facilitate the efficient use of personnel, equipment and physical plants
by furthering the orderly acquisition and sharing of resources useful for programs
of tuberculosis control.
ARTICLE II.
ENACTMENT
This compact shall become effective when enacted into law by any two (2) or more of
the states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.
Thereafter it shall become effective with respect to any other aforementioned state
upon its enacting this compact into law.
ARTICLE III.
DUTIES OF STATES
(a) It shall be the duty of each party state to formulate and put into effect an intrastate
procedure for the legal detention of persons with tuberculosis refusing treatment
which is compatible with the interstate tuberculosis control plan formulated pursuant
to this compact.
(b) Whenever the compact administrator of a party state requests aid from the compact
administrator of any other party state pursuant to this compact, it shall be the duty
of the requested state to render all possible aid which is consonant with the maintenance
and protection of its own people. The compact administrator of a party state may delegate
any or all of his or her authority to request aid or respond to requests for aid pursuant
to this compact to one (1) or more subordinates, in order that requests for aid and
responses thereto shall not be impeded by the reason of absence or unavailability
of the compact administrator. Any compact administrator making such a delegation shall
inform all the other compact administrators thereof, and also shall inform them of
the identity of the subordinate or subordinates to whom delegation has been made.
(c) Each party state shall maintain adequate tuberculosis control personnel and infrastructure
to meet normal demands for tuberculosis control within its borders.
(d) Each party state shall ensure that any Rhode Island resident treated pursuant to this
compact be provided all protections contained in R.I.G.L. 23-10-6.
ARTICLE IV.
LIABILITY
(a) Whenever the officers or employees of any party state are rendering outside aid pursuant
to the request of another party state under this compact, the officers or employees
of such state shall, under the direction of the authorities of the state to which
they are rendering aid, have the same powers, duties, rights, privileges and immunities
as comparable officers and employees of the state to which they are rendering aid.
(b) No party state or its officers or employees rendering outside aid pursuant to this
compact shall be liable on account of any act or omission on their part while so engaged,
or on account of the maintenance or use of any equipment or supplies in connection
therewith.
(c) All liability that may arise either under the laws of the requesting state or under
the laws of the abiding state or under the laws of a third state, on account of or
in connection with a request for aid, shall be assumed and borne by the requesting
state.
(d) Any party state rendering aid to provide involuntary detention for tuberculosis control
shall be reimbursed by the party state receiving such aid for any loss or damage to,
or expense incurred in the operation of any equipment answering a request for aid,
and for the cost of all materials, transportation and maintenance of employees and
equipment incurred in connection with such request; provided that nothing herein contained
shall prevent any assisting party state from assuming such loss, damage, expense or
other cost or from donating such services to the receiving party state without charge
or cost.
(e) Each party state shall provide for the payment of compensation and death benefits
to injured officers and employees and the representatives of deceased employees in
case employees sustain injuries, contract disease or are killed while rendering aid
pursuant to this compact, in the same manner and on the same terms as if the injury,
disease or death were sustained within the state for or in which the employee was
regularly employed.
ARTICLE V.
FACILITIES, EQUIPMENT AND PERSONNEL
(a) In recognition of the mutual benefits, in addition to those resulting from Article
IV, accruing to the party states from the existence and flexible use of professional
or technical personnel having special skills or training related to tuberculosis control,
such personnel may be made available to a party state by appropriate departments of
other party states: provided that the borrower reimburses such party state regularly
employing the personnel in question for any cost of making such personnel available,
including a prorated share of the salary or other compensation of the personnel involved.
(b) Nothing in this article shall be construed to limit or modify in any way the provisions
of article IV of this compact.
ARTICLE VI.
COMPACT ADMINISTRATORS
Each party state shall have a compact administrator who shall be the head of the state
agency responsible for tuberculosis control, and who:
(1) Shall coordinate activities pursuant to this compact in and on behalf of his or her
state.
(2) Serving jointly with the compact administrators of the other party states, shall develop
and keep current an interstate tuberculosis control involuntary detention plan; consider
such other matters as may be appropriate in connection with programs of cooperation
in the field of tuberculosis control and allied areas of common interest; and formulate
procedures for claims and reimbursement under the provisions of article IV.
ARTICLE VII.
OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES AND ACTIVITIES
Nothing in this compact shall be construed to:
(1) Authorize or permit any party state to curtail or diminish its tuberculosis control
program, equipment, services or facilities.
(2) Limit or restrict the powers of any state ratifying the same to provide tuberculosis
control to protect the health of the public and individuals, or to prohibit the enactment
or enforcement of state laws, rules or regulations intended to provide such tuberculosis
control.
(3) Affect any existing or future cooperative relationship or arrangement between federal,
state or local governments and a party state or states.
ARTICLE VIII.
WITHDRAWAL
Any party state may withdraw from this compact by enacting a statute repealing the
same, but no such withdrawal shall take effect until one (1) year after the governor
of the withdrawing state has given notice in writing of the withdrawal to the governors
of the other party states. No withdrawal shall affect any liability already incurred
by or chargeable to a party state prior to the time of such withdrawal.
ARTICLE IX.
CONSTRUCTION AND SEVERABILITY
It is the legislative intent that the provisions of this compact be reasonably and
liberally construed. The provisions of this compact shall be severable and if any
phrase, clause, sentence, or provision of this compact is declared to be unconstitutional
or the applicability thereof, to any state, agency, person or circumstances is held
invalid, the constitutionality of the remainder of this compact and the applicability
thereof, to any other state, agency, person or circumstance shall not be affected
thereby.