Rehder signals support for reining in county health boards

State Sen. Holly Rehder of Scott City (R-27) said Friday neither "fear nor emotions should drive policymaking" when it comes to public health.

Rehder, sworn into the upper chamber of the General Assembly on Jan. 6 after eight years in the Missouri House, said she is in favor of "most" of the legislation being proposed so far this session to limit the power of county health departments to issue health orders to the general public.

"There is definitely a balance between public health and freedom," said Rehder, adding COVID-19 has been "hard" on citizens and public health officials alike.

There were at least five relevant bills under consideration this week by the seven-member Senate Health and Pensions Committee, on which Rehder sits.

Rehder said she expects legislation to be fast-tracked.

"Most likely (something) will be voted out of committee next week," said Rehder. "In Scott County this past year, we had sometimes where drive-up church services weren't even allowed -- a clear example of how easily our God-given freedoms can be removed."

Rationale

Sen. Bob Onder of St. Charles (R-2) chairs Rehder's committee and was quoted in the online Missouri Times this week as saying lawmakers must act.

"I don't think it is an exaggeration to say (the pandemic) has been the most politicized disease in human history (with) many extreme and far-reaching orders at all levels of government, shuttering businesses, causing people to lose jobs and interfering with religious worship," Onder said.

The Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center (PHC) Board of Trustees issued a face covering order July 13 and modified its directive Oct. 27 to include criteria for bringing the mandate to an end.

The five-member board agreed to modify the order if the county's positivity test rate fell below 5% for a two-week period and the rolling 14-day case count of new COVID-19 cases also falls below 200 for a two-week period.

If those criteria are met, the wording in the health department's mandate be revised from "required" to "strongly recommended."

Landmark filing numbers

The candidacy filing deadline for the PHC Board ended Tuesday and no fewer than nine hopefuls are running for three open four-year positions in the April municipal election.

Incumbents Emily Collins, Georganne P. Syler and John M. Freeze are being opposed by J. Michael Davis, Nancy K. Johnson, Eric Becking, Matthew Uchtman, Carol Meza and Gerry Salter.

Another incumbent, Roland Sander, will come up for re-election in 2023.

For an unexpired two-year term, incumbent Diane Howard is opposed by Cassidy M. Klein.

"We've never had this many people interested in the health board at one time, that's definitely the case," said Cape County Clerk Kara Clark Summers, who has been in charge of county elections since 2007.