2025 Session Theme – Public Health Law Topics for Boards of Health and Health Departments
OPEN TO ALL BOARD OF HEALTH MEMBERS AND STAFF
If your Town is a member of a Shared Services Arrangement, your BOH might be eligible for a fee reimbursement depending on your BOH budget and the SSA budget. You should check with the BOH and SSA Administrator.
*If you want to learn more about Shared Services Program — Click –> Shared Services | Mass.gov
These are in-person sessions only.
Course Fee: $100 – Includes Breakfast, Lunch & Snacks
April 5th – Hotel 1620, 180 Water Street, Plymouth, MA
April 26th – Hotel Northampton, 36 King Street, Northampton, MA
May 10th – Courtyard Hotel, 75 Felton St, Marlborough, MA
Session Times: 8:30 AM – 4:00PM -Breakfast and Registration is 8:15AM – 9:00AM
Topics will include:
Legal Authority of Boards of Health
Hearings, Orders, and Enforcement
Governance: Open Meeting, Public Record Requests, Disruption
A “Deep Dive” Into the Effects of SAPHE 2.0 on Local Boards of Health
Case Studies in Tobacco, Cannabis, Synthetics
Opioid Settlement Updates
Environmental Case Studies
Nuisances/Noisome Trade Siting
Litigation Updates and Important Decisions from the Supreme Judicial Court
and More!!
This program is an approved expense for Shared Services Collaboratives
Breakfast, Lunch and Snacks will be served
DETAILED COURSE AGENDA – Click to view/download -> Agenda Spring 2025
Massachusetts Association of Health Boards
Certificate Program, Spring 2025
8:15 – 9:00 am: Registration and buffet breakfast
9:00 – 10:00 am: Legal Authority of Boards of Health, C. Sbarra, J.D.
- Welcome and Housekeeping
- Authority to Enact Regulations
- Authority to Regulate Specific Activities
- Nuisances
- Noisome trades
- Inspections
10:00 – 10:45 am: Public Records, Open Meeting Law and Conflict of Interest Law, M. Hugo, J.D.
10:45 – 11:00 am: Break – coffee/tea/water
11:00 – 11:45 am: SAPHE 2.0 – What is this New Law and What Does it Mean for Me?, C. Sbarra, J.D. and M. Hugo, J.D.
11:45 – 12:10 pm: Update from the Office of Local and Regional Health (OLRH)
12:10 – 12:45 pm: Lunch and dessert
12:45 – 1:45 pm: How Best to Conduct Quasi-Administrative and Quasi-Judicial Hearings and What to Avoid, C. Sbarra, J.D.
1:45 – 2:15 pm: Liability Protection for Boards of Health and Staff, C. Sbarra, J.D.
- Includes discussion of Independent Contractors v. Employees
2:15 – 2:30 pm: Break with snacks and beverages
2:30 – 3:15 pm: Lobbying v. Advocacy and Education, M. Hugo, J.D. and C. Sbarra, J.D.
3:15 – 4:00 pm: All Things Considered – What Is Coming Down the Pike? C. Sbarra, J.D.
- Cumberland Farms v. Board of Health of Braintree, Supreme Judicial Court decision 2024
- Cannabis Social Consumption Establishments
- New proposed regulations
- Opioid Abatement Settlements – Update
- Oral Nicotine Pouches
- Nicotine Free Generation update
Register by filling out the form at the bottom of this page
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Note that cancellations of the fee will be accepted up to 10 days prior to the meeting. Email lynda.ritacco@mahb.org or call 1-508-643-0234 to cancel.
Course Directors and Organizers
Cheryl Sbarra, Esq., Executive Director
Michael Hugo, J.D., Course Director
Marcia Testa, MPH, PhD, President, Course Organizer
As members and staff of Boards of Health, a comprehensive working knowledge of public health laws, regulations and bylaws for State and local jurisdictions is a critical competency for ensuring a capable public health system. This Certificate Program will provide you with the fundamentals of public health law so that you might be better able to understand, provide guidance, and enforce the laws, regulations and bylaws using the local jurisdictional authority granted to you as a BOH member or BOH agent. The MAHB Legal Handbook provides an excellent textbook for this program and should be used as background reading. Through your local town and city membership in the MAHB, you should have access to the online MAHB 2022 Legal Handbook (205 pages). Click Here for TOC – Legal Handbook Please consult with your BOH Chair, Health Department Director or Administrator for your Legal Handbook access codes. If you have difficulty accessing the Legal Handbook, call the MAHB Helpline (1-508-643-0234.) or complete the Helpdesk online form by going to Contact – Massachusetts Association of Health Boards (mahb.org).
REGISTRATION – If you have any difficulty registering using the form below, please call Lynda Ritacco at 1-508-643-0234 or email her at lynda.ritacco@mahb.org leaving your full name, town and contact email. You may also register more than one individual by calling. You will receive an invoice for the one-time course via email where you will be able to pay by mailing a check, using a debit, credit card or paypal. You may also select an option to leave the email of your town’s administrator. Remember that the fee will be covered by Towns that belong to a Shared Services Grant Program.
Use the form below to register for the 2025 MAHB Certificate Program.