Chapter 1. Tuberculosis Control of California Health And Safety Code >> Division 105. >> Part 5. >> Chapter 1.

The department shall maintain a program for the control of tuberculosis. The department shall administer the funds made available by the state for the care of tuberculosis patients.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter a county that has elected to come under Section 14150.1 of the Welfare and Institutions Code shall not receive any tuberculosis subsidy or reimbursement from the state under the provisions of this chapter.

The state department shall be the lead agency for all tuberculosis control and prevention activities at the state level.

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, individuals housed or detained through the tuberculosis control, housing, and detention program shall not reside in correctional facilities, and the funds available under that program with regard to those individuals shall not be disbursed to, or used by, correctional facilities. This section shall not be interpreted to prohibit the institutionalization of criminals with tuberculosis in correctional facilities.
  (b) The department shall work with local health jurisdictions to identify a detention site for recalcitrant tuberculosis patients appropriate for each local health jurisdiction in the state. The department shall notify all counties of their designated site by January 1, 1998.

Pulmonary tuberculosis is an infectious and communicable disease, dangerous to the public health, and all proper expenditures that may be made by any county, pursuant to this chapter, are necessary for the preservation of the public health of the county.

(a) Any city or county health department that elects to participate in this program shall provide for one-year certification of tuberculin skin test technicians by local health officers.
  (b) For purposes of this section, a "certified tuberculin skin test technician" is an unlicensed public health tuberculosis worker employed by, or under contract with, a local public health department, and who is certified by a local health officer to place and measure skin tests in the local health department's jurisdiction.
  (c) A certified tuberculin skin test technician may perform the functions for which he or she is certified only if he or she meets all of the following requirements:
  (1) The certified tuberculin skin test technician is working under the direction of the local health officer or the tuberculosis controller.
  (2) The certified tuberculin skin test technician is working under the supervision of a licensed health professional. For purposes of this section, "supervision" means the licensed health professional is immediately available for consultation with the tuberculin skin test technician through telephonic or electronic contact.
  (d) A certified tuberculin skin test technician may perform intradermal injections only for the purpose of placing a tuberculin skin test and measuring the test result.
  (e) A certified tuberculin skin test technician may not be certified to interpret, and may not interpret, the results of a tuberculin skin test.
  (f) In order to be certified as a tuberculin skin test technician by a local health officer, a person shall meet all of the following requirements, and provide to the local health officer appropriate documentation establishing that he or she has met those requirements:
  (1) The person has a high school diploma, or its equivalent.
  (2) (A) The person has completed a standardized course approved by the California Tuberculosis Controllers Association (CTCA), which shall include at least 24 hours of instruction in all of the following areas: didactic instruction on tuberculosis control principles and instruction on the proper placement and measurement of tuberculin skin tests, equipment usage, basic infection control, universal precautions, and appropriate disposal of sharps, needles, and medical waste, client preparation and education, safety, communication, professional behavior, and the importance of confidentiality.
  (B) A certification of satisfactory completion of this CTCA-approved course shall be dated and signed by the local health officer, and shall contain the name and social security number of the tuberculin skin test technician, and the printed name, the jurisdiction, and the telephone number of the certifying local health officer.
  (3) The person has completed practical instruction including placing at least 30 successful intradermal tuberculin skin tests, supervised by a licensed physician or registered nurse at the local health department, and 30 correct measurements of intradermal tuberculin skin tests, at least 15 of which are deemed positive by the licensed physician or registered nurse supervising the practical instruction. A certification of the satisfactory completion of this practical instruction shall be dated and signed by the licensed physician or registered nurse supervising the practical instruction.
  (g) The certification may be renewed, and the local health department shall provide a certificate of renewal, if the certificate holder has completed in-service training, including all of the following:
  (1) At least three hours of a CTCA-approved standardized training course to ensure continued competency. This training shall include, but not be limited to, fundamental principles of tuberculin skin testing.
  (2) Practical instruction, under the supervision of a licensed physician or registered nurse at the local health department, including the successful placement and correct measurement of 10 tuberculin skin tests, at least five of which are deemed positive by the licensed physician or registered nurse supervising the practical instruction.
  (h) The local health officer or the tuberculosis controller may deny or revoke the certification of a tuberculin skin test technician if the local health officer or the tuberculosis controller finds that the technician is not in compliance with this section.
  (i) Each county or city participating in the program under this section using tuberculin skin test technicians, that elects to participate on or after January 1, 2005, shall submit to the CTCA a survey and an evaluation of its findings, including a review of the aggregate report, by July 1, 2006, and by July 1 of each year thereafter to, and including, July 1, 2011. The report shall include the following:
  (1) The number of persons trained and certified as tuberculin skin test technicians in that city or county.
  (2) The estimated number of tuberculin skin tests placed by tuberculin skin test technicians in that city or county.
  (j) By July 1, 2008, the CTCA shall submit a summary of barriers to implementing the tuberculosis technician program in the state to the department and to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature.
  (k) The local health officer of each participating city or county shall report to the Tuberculosis Control Branch within the department any adverse event that he or she determines has resulted from improper tuberculin skin test technician training or performance.

(a) (1) A health facility, local detention facility, or state correctional institution shall not discharge or release any of the following persons unless subdivision (e) is complied with:
  (A) A person known to have active tuberculosis disease.
  (B) A person who the medical staff of the health facility or of the penal institution has reasonable grounds to believe has active tuberculosis disease.
  (2) In addition, persons specified in this subdivision may be discharged from a health facility only after a written treatment plan described in Section 121362 is approved by a local health officer of the jurisdiction in which the health facility is located. Any treatment plan submitted for approval pursuant to this paragraph shall be reviewed by the local health officer within 24 hours of receipt of that plan.
  (3) The approval requirement of paragraph (2) shall not apply to any transfer to a general acute care hospital when the transfer is due to an immediate need for a higher level of care, nor to any transfer from any health facility to a correctional institution. Transfers or discharges described in this paragraph shall occur only after the notification and treatment plan required by Section 121362 have been received by the local health officer.
  (4) This subdivision shall not apply to any transfer within the state correctional system or to any interfacility transfer occurring within a local detention facility system.
  (b) No health facility shall, without first complying with subdivision (e), transfer a person described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) to another health facility. This subdivision shall not apply to any transfer within the state correctional system or to any interfacility transfer occurring within a local detention facility system.
  (c) No state correctional institution or local detention facility shall transfer a person described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) from a state to a local, or from a local to a state, penal institution unless notification and a written treatment plan are received by the chief medical officer of the penal institution receiving the person.
  (d) No local detention facility shall transfer a person described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) to a local detention facility in another jurisdiction unless subdivision (e) is complied with and notification and a written treatment plan are received by the chief medical officer of the local detention facility receiving the person.
  (e) (1) Any discharge, release, or transfer described in subdivisions (a), (b), (c), and (d) may occur only after notification and a written treatment plan pursuant to Section 121362 has been received by the local health officer. When prior notification would jeopardize the person's health, the public safety, or the safety and security of the penal institution, the notification and treatment plan shall be submitted within 24 hours of discharge, release, or transfer.
  (2) When a person described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) is released on parole from a state correctional institution, the notification and written treatment plan specified in this subdivision shall be provided to both the local health officer for the county in which the parolee intends to reside and the local health officer for the county in which the state correctional institution is located.
  (3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Department of Corrections shall inform the parole agent, and other parole officials as necessary, that the person described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) has active or suspected active tuberculosis disease and provide information regarding the need for evaluation or treatment. The parole agent and other parole officials shall coordinate with the local health officer in supervising the person's compliance with medical evaluation or treatment related to tuberculosis, and shall notify the local health officer if the person' s parole is suspended as a result of having absconded from supervision.
  (f) No health facility that declines to discharge, release, or transfer a person pursuant to this section shall be civilly or criminally liable or subject to administrative sanction therefor. This subdivision shall apply only if the health facility complies with this section and acts in good faith.
  (g) Nothing in this section shall relieve a local health officer of any other duty imposed by this chapter.

Each health care provider who treats a person for active tuberculosis disease, each person in charge of a health facility, or each person in charge of a clinic providing outpatient treatment for active tuberculosis disease shall promptly report to the local health officer at the times that the health officer requires, but no less frequently than when there are reasonable grounds to believe that a person has active tuberculosis disease, and when a person ceases treatment for tuberculosis disease. Situations in which the provider may conclude that the patient has ceased treatment include times when the patient fails to keep an appointment, relocates without transferring care, or discontinues care. The initial disease notification report shall include an individual treatment plan that includes the patient's name, address, date of birth, tuberculin skin test results or the results of any other test for tuberculosis infection recommended by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and licensed by the federal Food and Drug Administration, pertinent radiologic, microbiologic, and pathologic reports, whether final or pending, and any other information required by the local health officer. Subsequent reports shall provide updated clinical status and laboratory results, assessment of treatment adherence, name of current care provider if the patient transfers care, and any other information required by the local health officer. A facility discharge, release, or transfer report shall include all pertinent and updated information required by the local health officer not previously reported on any initial or subsequent report, and shall specifically include a verified patient address, the name of the medical provider who has specifically agreed to provide medical care, clinical information used to assess the current infectious state, and any other information required by the local health officer. Each health care provider who treats a person with active tuberculosis disease, and each person in charge of a health facility or a clinic providing outpatient treatment for active tuberculosis disease, shall maintain written documentation of each patient's adherence to his or her individual treatment plan. Nothing in this section shall authorize the disclosure of test results for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) unless authorized by Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 120975) of, Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 121025) of, and Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 121075) of Part 4 of Division 105. In the case of a parolee under the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the local health officer shall notify the assigned parole agent, when known, or the regional parole administrator, when there are reasonable grounds to believe that the parolee has active tuberculosis disease and when the parolee ceases treatment for tuberculosis. Situations where the local health officer may conclude that the parolee has ceased treatment include times when the parolee fails to keep an appointment, relocates without transferring care, or discontinues care.

Each health care provider who treats a person for active tuberculosis disease shall examine, or cause to be examined, all household contacts or shall refer them to the local health officer for examination. Each health care provider shall promptly notify the local health officer of the referral. When required by the local health officer, nonhousehold contacts and household contacts not examined by a health care provider shall submit to examination by the local health officer or designee. If any abnormality consistent with tuberculosis disease is found, steps satisfactory to the local health officer shall be taken to refer the person promptly to a health care provider for further investigation, and if necessary, treatment. Contacts shall be reexamined at times and in a manner as the local health officer may require. When requested by the local health officer, a health care provider shall report the results of any examination related to tuberculosis of a contact.

(a) Within the territory under his or her jurisdiction, each local health officer may order examinations for tuberculosis infection for the purposes of directing preventive measures for persons in the territory, except those incarcerated in a state correctional institution, for whom the local health officer has reasonable grounds to determine are at heightened risk of tuberculosis exposure.
  (b) An order for examination pursuant to this section shall be in writing and shall include other terms and conditions as may be necessary to protect the public health.

Each local health officer is hereby directed to use every available means to ascertain the existence of, and immediately investigate all reported or suspected cases of active tuberculosis disease in the jurisdiction, and to ascertain the sources of those infections. In carrying out the investigations, each local health officer shall follow applicable local rules and regulations and all general and special rules, regulations, and orders of the state department. If the local health officer determines that the public health in general or the health of a particular person is endangered by exposure to a person who is known to have active tuberculosis disease, or to a person for whom there are reasonable grounds to believe has active tuberculosis disease, the local health officer may issue any orders he or she deems necessary to protect the public health or the health of any other person, and may make application to a court for enforcement of the orders. Upon the receipt of information that any order has been violated, the health officer shall advise the district attorney of the county in which the violation has occurred, in writing, and shall submit to the district attorney the information in his or her possession relating to the subject matter of the order, and of the violation or violations thereof. The orders may include, but shall not be limited to, any of the following:
  (a) An order authorizing the removal to, detention in, or admission into, a health facility or other treatment facility for appropriate examination for active tuberculosis disease of a person who is known to have active tuberculosis disease, or a person for whom there are reasonable grounds to believe that the person has active tuberculosis disease and who is unable or unwilling voluntarily to submit to the examination by a physician or by the local health officer. Any person whom the health officer determines should have an examination for tuberculosis disease may have the examination made by a physician and surgeon of his or her own choice who is licensed to practice medicine under Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 2000) of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code under terms and conditions as the local health officer shall determine on reasonable grounds to be necessary to protect the public health. This section does not authorize the local health officer to mandate involuntary anergy testing.
  (b) An order requiring a person who has active tuberculosis disease to complete an appropriate prescribed course of medication for tuberculosis disease and, if necessary, to follow required infection control precautions for tuberculosis disease. This subdivision does not allow the forceable or involuntary administration of medication.
  (c) An order requiring a person who has active tuberculosis disease and who is unable or unwilling otherwise to complete an appropriate prescribed course of medication for tuberculosis disease to follow a course of directly observed therapy. This subdivision does not allow forceable or involuntary administration of medication.
  (d) An order for the removal to, detention in, or admission into, a health facility or other treatment facility of a person if both of the following occur:
  (1) The person has infectious tuberculosis disease, or who presents a substantial likelihood of having infectious tuberculosis disease, based upon proven epidemiologic evidence, clinical evidence, X-ray readings, or tuberculosis laboratory test results.
  (2) The local health officer finds, based on recognized infection control principles, that there is a substantial likelihood the person may transmit tuberculosis to others because of his or her inadequate separation from others.
  (e) An order for the removal to, detention in, or admission into, a health facility or other treatment facility of a person if both of the following occur:
  (1) The person has active tuberculosis disease, or has been reported to the health officer as having active tuberculosis disease with no subsequent report to the health officer of the completion of an appropriate prescribed course of medication for tuberculosis disease.
  (2) There is a substantial likelihood, based on the person's past or present behavior, that he or she cannot be relied upon to participate in or complete an appropriate prescribed course of medication for tuberculosis disease and, if necessary, follow required infection control precautions for tuberculosis disease. The behavior may include, but is not limited to, refusal or failure to take medication for tuberculosis disease, refusal or failure to keep appointments or treatment for tuberculosis disease, refusal or failure to complete the treatment for tuberculosis disease, or disregard for infection control precautions for active tuberculosis disease.
  (f) An order for exclusion from attendance at the workplace for persons with infectious tuberculosis disease. The order may, also, exclude the person from any place when the local health officer determines that the place cannot be maintained in a manner adequate to protect others against the spread of tuberculosis disease.
  (g) An order for isolation of persons with infectious tuberculosis disease to their place of residence until the local health officer has determined that they no longer have infectious tuberculosis disease.
  (h) This section shall apply to all persons except those incarcerated in a state correctional institution.
  (i) This section shall not be construed to require a private hospital or other private treatment facility to accept any patient without a payment source, including county responsibilities under Section 17000 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, except as required by Sections 1317 et seq. or by federal law.

The local health officer may detain in a hospital or other appropriate place for examination or treatment, a person who is the subject of an order of detention issued pursuant to subdivision (a), (d), or (e) of Section 121365 without a prior court order except that when a person detained pursuant to subdivision (a), (d), or (e) of Section 121365 has requested release, the local health officer shall make an application for a court order authorizing the continued detention within 72 hours after the request or, if the 72-hour period ends on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, by the end of the first business day following the Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, which application shall include a request for an expedited hearing. After the request for release, detention shall not continue for more than five business days in the absence of a court order authorizing detention. However, in no event shall any person be detained for more than 60 days without a court order authorizing the detention. The local health officer shall seek further court review of the detention within 90 days following the initial court order authorizing detention and thereafter within 90 days of each subsequent court review. In any court proceeding to enforce a local health officer's order for the removal or detention of a person, the local health officer shall prove the particularized circumstances constituting the necessity for the detention by clear and convincing evidence. Any person who is subject to a detention order shall have the right to be represented by counsel and upon the request of the person, counsel shall be provided.

(a) An order of a local health officer pursuant to Section 121365 shall set forth all of the following:
  (1) The legal authority under which the order is issued, including the particular sections of state law or regulations.
  (2) An individualized assessment of the person's circumstances or behavior constituting the basis for the issuance of the order.
  (3) The less restrictive treatment alternatives that were attempted and were unsuccessful, or the less restrictive treatment alternatives that were considered and rejected, and the reasons the alternatives were rejected.
  (4) The orders shall be in writing, and shall include the name of the person, the period of time during which the order shall remain effective, the location, payer source if known, and other terms and conditions as may be necessary to protect the public health. Upon issuing an order, a copy of the order shall be served upon the person named in the order.
  (b) An order for the detention of a person shall do all of the following:
  (1) Include the purpose of the detention.
  (2) Advise the person being detained that he or she has the right to request release from detention by contacting a person designated on the local health officer's order at the telephone number stated on the order and that the detention shall not continue for more than five business days after the request for release, in the absence of a court order authorizing the detention.
  (3) Advise the person being detained that, whether or not he or she requests release from detention, the local health officer is required to obtain a court order authorizing detention within 60 days following the commencement of detention and thereafter shall further seek court review of the detention within 90 days of the court order and within 90 days of each subsequent court review.
  (4) Advise the person being detained that he or she has the right to arrange to be represented by counsel or to have counsel provided, and that if he or she chooses to have counsel provided, the counsel will be notified that the person has requested legal representation.
  (5) Be accompanied by a separate notice that shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following additional information:
  (A) That the person being detained has the right to request release from detention by contacting a person designated on the local health officer's order at a telephone number stated on the order, and that the detention shall not continue for more than five business days after the request in the absence of a court order authorizing the detention.
  (B) That he or she has the right to arrange to be advised and represented by counsel or to have counsel provided, and that if he or she chooses to have counsel provided, the counsel will be notified that the person has requested legal representation.
  (C) That he or she may supply the addresses or telephone numbers of not more than two individuals to receive notification of the person's detention, and that the local health officer shall, at the patient's request, provide notice within the limits of reasonable diligence to those people that the person is being detained.

Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of Section 121365, 121366 or 121367, all of the following shall apply:
  (a) A person who is detained solely pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 121365 shall not continue to be detained beyond the minimum period of time required, with the exercise of all due diligence, to make a medical determination of whether a person who is suspected of having tuberculosis disease, has active tuberculosis or whether a person who has active tuberculosis disease has infectious tuberculosis disease. Further detention of the person shall be authorized only upon the issuance of a local health officer's order pursuant to subdivision (d) or (e) of Section 121365.
  (b) A person who is detained solely for the reasons described in subdivision (d) of Section 121365 shall not continue to be detained after he or she ceases to be infectious or after the local health officer ascertains that changed circumstances exist that permit him or her to be adequately separated from others so as to prevent transmission of tuberculosis disease after his or her release from detention.
  (c) A person who is detained for the reasons described in subdivision (e) of Section 121365 shall not continue to be detained after he or she has completed an appropriate prescribed course of medication.

For the purposes of Sections 121365, 121366, and 121367, all of the following shall apply:
  (a) If necessary, language interpreters and persons skilled in communicating with vision and hearing impaired individuals shall be provided in accordance with applicable law.
  (b) Nothing in those sections shall be construed to permit or require the forcible administration of any medication without a prior court order.
  (c) Any and all orders authorized under those sections shall be made by the local health officer. His or her authority to make the orders may be delegated to the person in charge of medical treatment of inmates in penal institutions within the local health officer's jurisdiction, or pursuant to Section 7. The local health officer shall not make any orders incorporating by reference any other rules or regulations.

No examination or inspection shall be required of any person who depends exclusively on prayer for healing in accordance with the teachings of any well recognized religious sect, denomination or organization and claims exemption on that ground, except that the provisions of this code regarding compulsory reporting of communicable diseases and isolation and quarantine shall apply where there is probable cause to suspect that the person is infected with the disease in a communicable stage. Such person shall not be required to submit to any medical treatment, or to go to or be confined in a hospital or other medical institution; provided, he or she can be safely quarantined and/or isolated in his or her own home or other suitable place of his or her choice.

The department may inspect and have access to all records of all institutions and clinics, both public and private, where tuberculosis patients are treated.

The department may advise officers of state educational, correctional, and medical institutions regarding the control of tuberculosis and the care of tuberculosis patients.

The department shall lease any facilities it deems necessary to care for persons afflicted with active contagious tuberculosis who violate the quarantine or isolation orders of the health officer as provided in Section 120280.

Whenever any person confined in any state institution, as provided in Section 120280, subject to the jurisdiction of the Director of Corrections, dies, and any personal funds or personal property of the person remains in the hands of the Director of Corrections, those funds may be applied in an amount not exceeding three hundred dollars ($300) to the payment of expenses relating to burial; provided, however, that if no such funds are available, the department shall reimburse the Director of Corrections for the expenses in an amount not exceeding three hundred dollars ($300).

If the place of confinement of a person confined under the provisions of Section 120280 is in a county other than the county where he or she was convicted, upon release he or she shall be released in the custody of the sheriff of the county where he or she was convicted, and the sheriff shall forthwith return him or her to the place where he or she was convicted without the necessity of a court order or other process. The sheriff shall prior to the return of the person notify the health officer having jurisdiction of the area to which he or she will be returned of the date he or she will reach that area.

The department may distribute for the purpose of tuberculosis control an annual subvention, paid quarterly, to any local health department that maintains a tuberculosis control program consistent with standards and procedures established by the department. This annual subvention shall be used primarily for the strengthening of tuberculosis prevention activities by local health departments. Further, the department may allocate additional funds to selected local health departments based on high disease incidence, or other standards established by the department. These additional funds shall be expended primarily for the cost of diagnosis, treatment, and followup services required for an effective tuberculosis control program. Services rendered under this section may not be made dependent on status of residence.

A local entity that receives funding from the state for the purposes of this part, including, but not limited to, funding from the state for tuberculosis control pursuant to Item 4265-111-0001 of Section 2.00 of the annual Budget Act, shall first allocate the moneys received for the following purposes and activities before allocating the moneys for any other purposes or activities described in this part:
  (a) Either of the following activities if those activities are carried out by a local detention facility:
  (1) When a person who has active tuberculosis or is reasonably believed to have active tuberculosis is discharged or released from a detention facility, doing both of the following:
  (A) Drafting and submitting notification to the local health officer.
  (B) Submitting the written treatment plan that includes the information required by Section 121362 to the local health officer. This activity does not include drafting the written treatment plan.
  (2) When a person who has active tuberculosis or is reasonably believed to have active tuberculosis is transferred to a local detention facility in another jurisdiction, doing both of the following:
  (A) Drafting and submitting notification to the local health officer and the medical officer of the local detention facility receiving the person.
  (B) Submitting the written treatment plan that includes the information required by Section 121362 to the local health officer and the medical officer of the local detention facility receiving the person. This activity does not include drafting the written treatment plan.
  (b) Either of the following activities if those activities are carried out by a local health officer or his or her designee:
  (1) Receiving and reviewing for approval within 24 hours of receipt only those treatment plans submitted by a health facility. This activity includes all of the following:
  (A) Receiving the health facility's treatment plan.
  (B) Sending a request to a health facility for medical records and information on tuberculosis medications, dosages, and diagnostic workup and reviewing records and information.
  (C) Coordinating with the health facility on any adjustments to the treatment plan.
  (D) Sending approval to the health facility.
  (2) Drafting and sending a notice to the medical officer of a parole region, or a physician or surgeon designated by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, if there are reasonable grounds to believe that a parolee has active tuberculosis and ceases treatment for the disease.
  (c) For cities, counties, and cities and counties to provide counsel to nonindigent tuberculosis patients who are subject to a civil order of detention issued by a local health officer pursuant to Section 121365 upon request of the patient. Services provided by counsel include representation of the tuberculosis patient at any court review of the order of detention required by Section 121366.

A local health department or local health officer that receives funding from the state for tuberculosis control pursuant to Item 4265-111-0001 of Section 2.00 of the annual Budget Act for purposes of this part may use those funds to reimburse the actual costs of carrying out the activities described in Section 121451.

The department may establish standards and procedures for the operation of local tuberculosis control programs. Such standards shall include, but not be limited to, the maintenance of records and reports relative to services rendered and to expenditures made that shall be reported semiannually to the department in a manner as it may specify.

Of the annual appropriation made to the department for tuberculosis control, the department may expend a sum not to exceed 7.5 percent of the total, for administrative costs. In addition, it may, if it deems necessary, withhold a portion of the appropriation to pay for the cost of regional laboratory services and regional hospitalization facilities for patients whose care cannot be reasonably accomplished in facilities available within a local health department, or it may contract with physicians to supervise the medical care of tuberculosis patients in areas where the specialized care is not available. Further, the appropriation shall be available to purchase materials or drugs used in tuberculosis control for distribution to local health departments.