Benjamin Mason Meier ^1*, James G. Hodge ², Kristine M. Gebbie ¹

¹ Columbia University
² Center for Law and the Public's Health

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: bmm2102{at}columbia.edu.

	Abstract

Given the public health importance of law modernization, we undertook a comparative analysis of policy efforts in 4 states (Alaska, South Carolina, Wisconsin, and Nebraska) that have considered public health law reform based on the Turning Point Model State Public Health Act.

Through national legislative tracking and state case studies, we investigated how the Turning Point Act’s model legal language has been considered for incorporation into state law and analyzed key facilitating and inhibiting factors for public health law reform.

Our findings provide the practice community with a research base to facilitate further law reform and inform future scholarship on the role of law as a determinant of the public’s health.

Key Words: Government, Health Law, Health Policy