§45-21-171. Collection and disposition of fees; ability to pay.

(a) In Crenshaw County, the county board of health shall designate the services rendered by the county health department for which fees may be charged and shall set the fee to be charged for each service. Any fees to be charged under the authority of this section by the county health department shall be subject to approval by the respective county commission prior to implementation. The county health department is hereby authorized to charge and collect such fees. All fees collected shall be in addition to any and all federal, state, and local appropriations. Any fees collected shall be processed in accordance with the recommendations of the State Examiners of Public Accounts.

(b) No person shall be denied any service because of that person's inability to pay. The county board of health may establish a sliding fee scale based on one's ability to pay.

(c) This section shall not apply to nor affect any fees otherwise authorized, set, or collected under state or federal law or regulations.

(d) All fees collected by the county health department pursuant to this section shall be deposited directly to the general fund of the county, and those fees are hereby appropriated to the use of the county health department which collected such fees.

(Act 89-479, p. 1002, §§1-4.)