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Abstract: This article reports on the initial findings of a project supported by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation entitled “Building the Base for a Research Agenda on Local Public Health Authority.” Through this project, we seek to assess the major themes, legal approaches, and effectiveness of local law as a tool to improve public health. The ultimate goals are to (1) create a database of local public health ordinances in key program areas, (2) facilitate an understanding of relationships between local and state public health laws, and (3) establish a platform for future studies on local public health law. The initial phase focused on understanding the scope and breadth of local ordinances. We researched ordinances of approximately 50 municipalities of various sizes and locations. Based on a review of these municipalities’ laws, we extrapolated common public health-related topics and themes under a broad conception of “public health” proffered by the Institute of Medicine as “what we, as a society, do collectively to assure the conditions for people to be healthy.” This article discusses the major components and themes of local public health laws.
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