Creates the office of health and nutrition within the Louisiana Department of Health. (gov sig) (RE NO IMPACT See Note)

Senate Bill 219 amends Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 36 to create the office of health and nutrition within the Louisiana Department of Health as a new organizational unit. The bill adds the office to the statutory list of departmental offices enumerated in R.S. 36:251(C)(1) and establishes its legal framework through the addition of R.S. 36:253.1 and 258.1. The new office operates under the direct supervision, direction, and control of the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health and is led by an executive director who reports directly to the secretary. The bill removes references to physical fitness and supplemental food programs from other statutory contexts and consolidates these functions within the new office structure. Additionally, the bill amends R.S. 46:450.3(A) to designate the office of health and nutrition as the responsible entity for establishing WIC program rules and regulations.

The office of health and nutrition assumes responsibility for leading and coordinating the Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants, and Children known as WIC, and the Commodity Supplemental Food Program. The office also develops policy for implementation of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program within the department and leads departmental initiatives addressing health and nutrition, health care access, and preventative health care services. The Louisiana Department of Health is authorized to transfer existing funding and positions from other departmental offices to establish and implement the new office. This consolidation affects the administrative structure of the department and clarifies lines of authority for nutrition assistance and physical fitness programs previously distributed among other organizational units.

The bill operates within the existing framework of R.S. 36, which establishes the organizational structure and powers of state agencies and constitutional officers. The office of health and nutrition joins other departmental offices that were previously created by statute, such as the office of the surgeon general and the office of public health. Unlike most other departmental offices that operate under the supervision of an assistant secretary appointed with senate consent, the office of health and nutrition remains under the direct control of the secretary consistent with the executive office of the secretary and the office of management and finance. This arrangement reflects a structural choice to maintain centralized authority over health and nutrition policy within the secretary's office rather than delegating through a separate assistant secretary position.