Ark. Code Ann. » Title 20 Chapter 07
Arkansas Code Annotated

Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-109 (2026)

Authority to regulate public health — Exceptions

✓ current as of May 2026
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    1. Power is conferred on the State Board of Health to make all necessary and reasonable rules of a general nature for:
      1. The protection of the public health and safety;
      2. The general amelioration of the sanitary and hygienic conditions within the state;
      3. The suppression and prevention of infectious, contagious, and communicable diseases;
      4. The proper enforcement of quarantine, isolation, and control of such diseases; and
      5. The proper control of chemical exposures that may result in adverse health effects to the public.
    2. All rules promulgated pursuant to this subsection shall be reviewed by the House Committee on Public Health, Welfare, and Labor and the Senate Committee on Public Health, Welfare, and Labor or appropriate subcommittees thereof.
  2. However, if a patient can be treated with reasonable safety to the public health, he or she shall not be removed from his or her home without his or her consent, or the consent of the parents or guardian in the case of a minor, and the rules, when made, shall be printed in pamphlet form, with such numbers of copies as may be necessary for the distribution of the information to health bodies, health and sanitary officers, and the public generally.
  3. The board shall not regulate the practice of medicine or healing nor interfere with the right of any citizen to employ the practitioner of his or her choice.

History. Acts 1913, No. 96, § 6; C. & M. Dig., § 5130; Pope's Dig., § 6401; A.S.A. 1947, § 82-110; Acts 1991, No. 990, §§ 3, 5; 1997, No. 179, § 20; 2019, No. 315, § 1803.

Amendments. The 2019 amendment deleted “and regulations” following “rules” throughout the section.

Cross References. Adoption of rules and regulations for abortion clinics by Department of Health, § 20-9-302.

Case Notes

Constitutionality.

Regulations of the State Board of Health requiring vaccination of school children against smallpox were a valid exercise of the police power of the state and did not violate the religious freedom guaranteed by U.S. Const., Amend. 1, even though the regulation contravened religious beliefs. Wright v. DeWitt Sch. Dist., 238 Ark. 906, 385 S.W.2d 644 (1965); Mannis v. State, 240 Ark. 42, 398 S.W.2d 206, cert. denied, 384 U.S. 972, 86 S. Ct. 1864, 16 L. Ed. 2d 683 (1966).

Effect of Other Laws.

Acts 1931, No. 169, did not repeal the authority of the State Board of Health to make regulations requiring the vaccination of school children. Seubold v. Ft. Smith Special School Dist., 218 Ark. 560, 237 S.W.2d 884 (1951).

Cited: Ark. Beverage Co. v. Heath, 257 Ark. 991, 521 S.W.2d 835 (1975); Land v. Ark. Dep't of Health, 282 Ark. 191, 667 S.W.2d 651 (1984).

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 2 cases, 2000–2020 · leading case: In Re: Leslie Rutledge v., 956 F.3d 1018 (8th Cir. 2020).
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In Re: Leslie Rutledge v., 956 F.3d 1018 (8th Cir. 2020). · cites it 2× “” The ADH directive was subsequently promulgated in response to Executive Order 20-03 and pursuant to the ADH’s general authority under Ark. Code Ann. §§ 20-7-109 , 20-7-110. Although it has no explicit expiration date, and “while neither the ADH nor [the Governor of Arkansas]…”
Linda Fletcher v. Price Chopper Foods (8th Cir. 2000). “Although the regulations promulgated by the Department have the force of law, see Ark. Code Ann. § 20-7-109 (a)(1) (Michie 2000), the regulations are not formally published.”
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