31-2-1

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31-2-1.
The Department of Human Resources is created and established to safeguard and promote the health of the people of this state and is empowered to employ all legal means appropriate to that end. Illustrating, without limiting, the foregoing grant of authority, the department is empowered to:
(1) Provide epidemiological investigations and laboratory facilities and services in the detection and control of disease, disorders, and disabilities and to provide research, conduct investigations, and disseminate information concerning reduction in the incidence and proper control of disease, disorders, and disabilities;
(2) Forestall and correct physical, chemical, and biological conditions that, if left to run their course, could be injurious to health;
(3) Regulate and require the use of sanitary facilities at construction sites and places of public assembly and to regulate persons, firms, and corporations engaged in the rental and service of portable chemical toilets;
(4) Isolate and treat persons afflicted with a communicable disease who are either unable or unwilling to observe the department´s rules and regulations for the suppression of such disease and to establish, to that end, complete or modified quarantine, surveillance, or isolation of persons and animals exposed to a disease communicable to man;
(5) Manufacture drugs and biologicals which are not readily available on the market and not manufactured for commercial purposes, when expressly authorized and shown on the minutes of the department; to procure and distribute drugs and biologicals and purchase services from clinics, laboratories, hospitals, and other health facilities and, when authorized by law, to acquire and operate such facilities;
(6) Cooperate with agencies and departments of the federal government and of the state by supplying consultant services in medical and hospital programs and in the health aspects of civil defense;
(7) Detect and relieve physical defects and deformities and provide treatment for mental and emotional disorders and infirmities;
(8) Promote the prevention, early detection, and control of problems affecting the dental health of the citizens of Georgia;
(9) Contract with county boards of health to assist in the performance of services incumbent upon them under Chapter 3 of this title and, in the event of grave emergencies of more than local peril, to employ whatever means may be at its disposal to overcome such emergencies;
(10) Contract and execute releases for assistance in the performance of its functions and the exercise of its powers and to supply services which are within its purview to perform;
(11) Enter into or upon public or private property at reasonable times for the purpose of inspecting same to determine the presence of disease and conditions deleterious to health or to determine compliance with health laws and rules, regulations, and standards thereunder;
(12) Promulgate and enforce rules and regulations for the licensing of medical facilities wherein abortion procedures under subsections (b) and (c) of Code Section 16-12-141 are to be performed; and, further, to disseminate and distribute educational information and medical supplies and treatment in order to prevent unwanted pregnancy; and
(13) Establish, by rule adopted pursuant to Chapter 13 of Title 50, the 'Georgia Administrative Procedure Act,' a schedule of fees for laboratory services provided, schedules to be determined in a manner so as to help defray the costs incurred by the department, but in no event to exceed such costs, both direct and indirect, in providing such laboratory services, provided no person shall be denied services on the basis of his inability to pay. All fees paid thereunder shall be paid into the general funds of the State of Georgia. The individual who requests services authorized in this Code section shall pay the fee. As used in this Code section, the term 'individual' means a natural person.