Commission for Public Health -Impact on 17 Year Olds

Should a commission, removed from the public square, be involved in deciding rules for 17 year olds, or rising 12th graders?

At 10:10pm on January 27, 2022, I received a document confirming concerns about the Commission of Public Health and their upcoming agenda, namely item 4.

I sought documentation because I was made aware by an NC parent of an upcoming rally.

The Commission does have rule making authority, but does it make sense to force the will of a mere thirteen board members -nine of which are appointed by the Governor, while four are elected through the NC Medical Society- onto unsuspecting 17 year olds?

What’s interesting is the agenda doesn’t seem to be posted on the website as of today, 1/28/2022 . Also, the board members are inaccessible…fascinating.

The last meeting the Commission held, Chairman May discussed transparency briefly and almost seemed to warn that the public was watching. They were also welcomed to post comments in the webex chat. I have not examined those public comments as of yet, although I do have an inquiry pending. I was refused November 2021 meeting minutes as they had not been approved by the board yet. Even when asking for the unofficial minutes, I was also declined. I was provided, however, with the November 2021 meeting, which interestingly was only viewable to people with the link and is “unlisted” on the NC DHHS you tube channel.

Gosh, what message are we sending about transparency here?

And one more nail in the coffin…

Remember the rally?

Oh, dear. What is the public to think when they discover elite rule makers -mostly appointed by the Governor- are inaccessible by phone, email, in-person and even in the previous online recordings? I don’t think they will be happy. This bad behavior will likely have consequences… and I hope it leads to lots of sunshine.

The Commission, instead of worrying about the perceived health of others, should consider having an open and transparent dialogue with the public, or consider vacating their positions on this board.

What good is a “public health commission,” which seems to hide from the public?

Finally, become knowledgeable about laws which currently protect NCians.