130A-45.4. Appointment of a public health authority director.

(a) A public health authority board, after consulting with the appropriate county board or boards of commissioners, shall appoint a public health authority director.

(b) All persons who are appointed to the position of public health authority director must possess minimum education and experience requirements for that position, as follows:

(1) A medical doctorate; or

(2) A masters degree in Public Health Administration, and at least one year of employment experience in health programs or health services; or

(3) A masters degree in a public health discipline other than public health administration, and at least three years of employment experience in health programs or health services; or

(4) A masters degree in public administration, and at least two years of experience in health programs or health services; or

(5) A masters degree in a field related to public health, and at least three years of experience in health programs or health services; or

(6) A bachelors degree in public health administration or public administration and at least three years of experience in health programs or health services.

(c) Before appointing a person to the position of public health authority director under subdivision (a)(5) of this section, the authority board shall forward the application and other pertinent materials of such candidate to the State Health Director. If the State Health Director determines that the candidate's masters degree is in a field not related to public health, the State Health Director shall so notify the authority board in writing within 15 days of the State Health Director's receipt of the application and materials, and such candidate shall be deemed not to meet the education requirements of subdivision (a)(5) of this section. If the State Health Director fails to act upon the application within 15 days of receipt of the application and materials from the authority board, the application shall be deemed approved with respect to the education requirements of subdivision (a)(5) of this section, and the authority board may proceed with the appointment process.

(d) The State Health Director shall review requests of educational institutions to determine whether a particular masters degree offered by the requesting institution is related to public health for the purposes of subdivision (a)(5) of this section. The State Health Director shall act upon such requests within 90 days of receipt of the request and pertinent materials from the institution, and shall notify the institution of its determination in writing within the 90-day review period. If the State Health Director determines that an institution's particular masters degree is not related to public health, the State Health Director shall include the reasons therefor in his written determination to the institution.

(e) When an authority board fails to appoint a public health authority director within 60 days of the creation of a vacancy, the State Health Director may appoint an authority director to serve until the authority board appoints an authority director in accordance with this section.