Search Resources
67 search results
2021 State Enacted Food Legislation: June 2021
Date posted: Wednesday, June 23, 2021Blog poster: Doug Farquhar, JDState legislatures introduced several hundred bills related to food during the 2021 legislative sessions. Almost every state introduced legislation regarding food—including food ...
2021 Year in Government Affairs
Date posted: Monday, January 10, 2022Blog poster: Doug Farquhar, JDI've completed my first full year as director of Government Affairs for NEHA and, as such, would like to list the accomplishments of the program in 2021.This endeavor is more tha...
2023 State Legislation on Body Art
January 9, 2024 A total of 60 pieces of legislation related to body art were introduced in 19 states and Puerto Rico during the 2023 legislative sessions. Of these 60, 9 were enacted in California, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, New Hampshire, Tennessee. ...
2023 Update on State Food Safety Legislation
October 3, 2023 The following table provides a summary of bills related to food safety that have been introduced by state legislations in 2023.Food Safety Topic# of Bills IntroducedRetail food67Food freedom66Food safety51Meat, seafood, or poultr...
2023: Our Year in Review for Government Affairs
January 5, 2024 Washington, DC, remains as chaotic as ever. Congress spent more time trying to figure out a speaker than floor time on appropriations. The House of Representatives is as far behind as it has ever been on passing the fiscal year (...
5 Checks for Safe Food Delivery
This document, "5 Checks for Safe Food Delivery", has been designed to provide best practice recommendations for safe food delivery to delivery persons working with third-party delivery services. This document is intended to provide very brief ...
Back on the Hill Again, Virtually
May 28, 2024 During the hectic federal budget month of May, we were again talking to Congress, this time virtually.Republican appropriators from the House of Representative came out with their top line fiscal year (FY) 2025 budgets—$711 billion ...
Biden Announces Nominees for Key Positions on Health and Science
Date posted: Thursday, January 21, 2021Blog poster: Doug Farquhar, JDThe incoming Biden Administration has announced cabinet nominees, many White House positions, and several nominees for key posts within the administration.Regarding science, th...
Biden-Harris Administration to Invest $7 Billion From American Rescue Plan to Hire and Train Public Health Workers in Response to COVID-19
Date posted: Friday, June 4, 2021Blog poster: Doug Farquhar, JDLast month the White House announced that it will be redistributing $7.4 billion from the American Rescue Plan to hire and train public health workers in response to COVID-19, includ...
Congress and Congressional Appropriations in the Final Weeks
Date posted: Tuesday, September 22, 2020Blog poster: Doug Farquhar, JDThe new fiscal year begins on October 1 and the Senate has yet to vote—even at the subcommittee or committee level—on any of the 12 regular appropriations bills. Over in the H...
Congress in Negotiations to Finalize the Fiscal Year 2023 Appropriations
Tuesday, December 6, 2022dfarquhar@neha.org With the midterms over, Congress needs to finish their work on the fiscal year (FY) 2023 budgets. Republicans proposed a top-line of roughly $1.65 trillion in discretionary spending, in line with Presi...
Congress Passes the $1.2 Trillion Infrastructure Bill
Date posted: Monday, November 8, 2021Blog poster: Doug Farquhar, JDCongress was busy this weekend by passing the $1.2 trillion bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (HR 3684) and agreeing to act on the $1.85 trillion reconciliation m...
Congress to Approve Fiscal Year 2024 Funding for Several Federal Agencies
March 4, 2024 Congress released the massive $467.5 billion fiscal year (FY) 2024 appropriations package for the Agriculture, Commerce-Justice-Science, Energy-Water, Interior-Environment, Military Construction-VA and Transportation-HUD budgets. T...
Congressional House Appropriations Markup of the Labor-HHS-Education Budget Provides Significant Increases to the Nation’s Public Health Infrastructure
Date posted: Friday, July 16, 2021Blog poster: Doug Farquhar, JDThe House Appropriations Labor-HHS-Education Subcommittee oversees the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) budget and released its markup budget this week. The subcommi...
Congresswoman Lawrence Introduces the Environmental Health Workforce Act
Date posted: Saturday, May 15, 2021Blog poster: Doug Farquhar, JDThe Environmental Health Workforce Act (H.R. 2661) was introduced by Representative Brenda Lawrence (D-Michigan) on April 19, 2021. The act would require the Secretary of the U.S. ...
Disaster Assessment, Response and Recovery Checklist
This checklist is used to assess the impact of a disaster on retail food establishments, items to review for food product evaluation response, and other recovery activities. Disaster Response and Recovery for: General disasters Fire Power...
Dual Disaster Checklist: Flooding and COVID-19
This resource is a dual disaster checklist that can be utilized to support the preparedness of local leaders and contains: Action steps to prepare Checklist for local leaders Recommended for environmental public health professionals, publi...
Enacted State Food Legislation
Date posted: Thursday, September 23, 2021Blog poster: Doug Farquhar, JDState legislatures introduced several hundred bills related to food during the 2021 legislative sessions. Almost every state introduced legislation regarding food. From food ...
Environmental Health Holds the Keys to Public Health's Future
Date posted: Friday, June 5, 2020Blog poster: Doug Farquhar, JDOne of the foremost paradigm changes that has occurred in public policy in the past 10 years is the enactment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as the Aff...
EPA Natural Disaster Incident Report Form
This resource can be used to record water incidents occurring in public water supply sources and includes a: Checklist Damage Assessment Information Recommended for environmental public health professionals who are assessing the operational...
EPA Suggested Questions for Water and Wastewater Utilities - Damage Assessment Form
This form template can be used to assess damage to a water and wastewater system.Damage Assessment FormRecommended for environmental public health professionals who are performing assessments on water and wastewater facilities.Download Form...
FDA Appoints Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods Program
August 29, 2023 The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced the appointment of James “Jim” Jones as the first-ever deputy commissioner for the Human Foods Program. As deputy commissioner of the Human Foods Program, J...
Federal Funding: Congressional Update
February 26, 2024 As we move into the sixth month of the federal fiscal year (FY 2024) with no final agreement and the continuing resolution (CR) expiring, Congress needs to act—either to enact the appropriations bill or another CR.No one in Con...
Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023
June 6, 2023 On Saturday, June 3, 2023, President Joe Biden signed the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) of 2023, which raises the debt ceiling to allow the U.S. federal government to continue to pay its bills. The deal suspends the deb...
Fiscal Year 2021 Budget
Date posted: Monday, December 28, 2020Blog poster: Doug Farquhar, JDOn Monday, December 21, the House and Senate Appropriators came to an agreement regarding the fiscal year (FY) 2021 federal budget. Congress released the omnibus appropriations ...
Fiscal Year 2023 Omnibus Appropriations Bill
Thursday, December 22, 2022dfarquhar@neha.orgCongress has released a bipartisan and bicameral (i.e. both legislative branched) spending package, known as the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2023. The package includes all of the fiscal year (FY) ...
Fiscal Year 2024 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Bill
May 18, 2023The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies marked up the fiscal year (FY) 2024 appropriations bill on May 18, 2023. The committee approved a party line ...
Fiscal Year 2024 Appropriations Moving Forward, Albeit Slowly
June 26, 2023After the recent debacle over the debt ceiling, Congress is once again working on the fiscal year (FY) 2024 budget. The Senate is using the agreed-to FY 2023 amount set by the debt ceiling and the House of Representatives is followi...
Government Affairs Accomplishments in 2022
February 2, 2023Our Government Affairs program continues to expand its influence by reaching out to the current administration, Congress, and federal agencies, as well as engaging in state activities such as tracking state legislation and workin...
House and Senate Continue to Work on Fiscal Year 2024 Appropriations
July 24, 2023 The appropriation bills for Fiscal Year 2024 are being finalized, with the House Appropriations Committee passing the FY 2024 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies appropriations bi...
House and Senate Have Until January 19 to Finalize Fiscal Year 2024 Appropriations
December 18, 2023 Congress is much closer to finalizing the fiscal year (FY) 2024 appropriations than the last blog posted on the topic in July, but they still have a ways to go. Top-Line Spending Levels and Other Fund...
Inspector Checklist Boil Water Order
This checklist is for inspectors to use when evaluating if a food establishment may operate during a boil water order. Recommended for environmental public health and public health professionals working with food establishments to determine th...
Inspector Checklist Sewage Backup
This checklist supports sewage backup response in a food establishment. Reopening procedures Recommended for environmental public health professionals working within disaster response and recovery. Download...
Laws to Exempt Retail Foods From State Oversight Are on the Rise
Date posted: Thursday, March 4, 2021Blog poster: Doug Farquhar, JDNEHA has been able to identify 41 bills in 24 states in the 2021–2022 state legislative session that relate to cottage foods (i.e., bills the relax or eliminate food safety requir...
National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week Is October 25–31, 2020
Date posted: Thursday, October 22, 2020Blog poster: Doug Farquhar, JDThe federal government has fought the scourge of lead poisoning since before the passage of the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992. The government began ...
NEHA Advocates for the Environmental Health Profession to the United Nations
Date posted: Thursday, June 18, 2020Blog poster: Doug Farquhar, JDRecently, NEHA Executive Director Dr. David Dyjack co-wrote a letter to the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) regarding their Science and Technology for DR...
NEHA in Washington, DC, 2023
March 2, 2023Our sixth annual Hill Day was held on Thursday, February 23. The NEHA Board of Directors and several of our members met with 53 members of the U.S. Congress from both the House of Representative and Senate and both parties who serve...
NEHA Meets With the FDA Commissioner
April 10, 2023We were in our nation’s capital the first week of April visiting the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Headquarters in White Oak, Maryland.Executive Director Dr. David Dyjack, Director of EZ Rance Baker, Director of Government Af...
NEHA Visits Congress Virtually
Date posted: Tuesday, April 27, 2021Blog poster: Doug Farquhar, JDFor this year's Earth Day on April 22, NEHA spread the word about environmental health among the nation's policy makers in Washington, DC. With the COVID-19 pandemic and other res...
Our Story to Tell
October 3, 2023 As I relax here in a cabana near Cabo San Jose in Baja, California, I’m letting myself do one of my favorite forms of relaxation: thinking.Being unencumbered by the noise of everyday life frees me to just sit and think. About wor...
Our Visit to the CDC Vector-Borne Laboratory
April 30, 2024 On Wednesday, April 24, our CEO Dr. David Dyjack and Government Affairs Director Doug Farquhar visited the CDC Vector-Borne Disease Laboratory in Ft. Collins, Colorado. Dr. Sue Visser, deputy director for Policy and Extramural Pro...
Post-Fire Inspection Checklist for Retail Food Establishments
This checklist can be used by environmental health professionals to assess if a retail food facility can reopen safely after a fire in the facility. Disaster Report checklist for: Building structure Water Service Power Outage Equipment ...
Preparedness Go-Bag
Date posted: August 25, 2021Blog poster: NEHA's Preparedness CommitteeWell, it is that time of year again. The ocean waters are hotter, and hurricanes are starting to form, with the 2021 season already at five named storms as of mid-July. The we...
President Biden Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Proposal Released
March 18, 2024 President Biden released his fiscal year (FY) 2025 budget proposal on March 11, outlining the Administration’s priorities for the upcoming fiscal year, including amounts to fund environmental health programs at the Cen...
Public Health Authorities in the Time of COVID-19
Date posted: Monday, August 3, 2020Blog poster: Doug Farquhar, JDNEHA received a question from a long-time member regarding the legal authorities to manage COVID-19. What are these authorities based on? How long do they last? What measures can b...
Results of the Midterm Elections on Environmental Health
Tuesday, November 22, 2022dfarquhar@neha.org The 2022 midterm elections are finally over. And we know the results, mostly.The U.S. Senate will remain in control of the Democratic Party, having at least 50 seats and the vote of Vice President Kam...
Retail Food Establishment Checklist for Floods
This checklist can be used by environmental health professionals to assess if a retail food facility can reopen safely after a flood in the facility. Recommended for emergency environmental public health practitioners working at the s...
Second Annual World Food Day
Date posted: Monday, June 29, 2020Blog poster: Doug Farquhar, JDIn the midst of COVID-19, enforcing social distancing, and attempts to reopen the economy, we neglected to celebrate June 7, 2020, as the 2nd Annual World Food Day, sponsored by the...