Kathleen Hoke

As climate-related disasters grow more frequent and costly, state and local governments are pursuing "Make Polluters Pay" strategies to hold major fossil fuel companies financially accountable for the public health costs of climate change. This new policy brief from the Network for Public Health Law explores the litigation and climate superfund laws driving these efforts, including a side-by-side comparison of the nation's first two climate superfund laws in Vermont and New York. It also examines the legal challenges and pushback these strategies face from industry, the federal government, and some states.

Overview Laws and policies that promote public health and health equity are designed to be effective for the broader population or specific demographics within the…

Overview The Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) is a joint surveillance project between health departments and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)…

HDUs can provide health departments critical information to respond proactively to emergencies, public health risks, and equity focused use cases. They also address many contemporary concerns around data sharing, such as transparency around governance and ensuring the access and use of data serves the public good.

Overview February 19, 2026 | 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. CTPost-Dobbs, the United States has seen an onslaught of attacks on abortion care. Legal strategies…

This webinar will offer attendees an overview of changes in law and policy that impact access to reproductive health care directly or through indirect measures that deter pregnant people from seeking care. This webinar is an extension of a workshop held at the recent 2025 Public Health Law Conference and the bulk of the time will be devoted to attendees’ questions on the topics presented.

Local governments and community-based organizations seeking to improve public health through increasing access to nutritious food should consider the role of transportation policy. Demand Responsive Transit (DRT) is an alternative to public transportation that allows users to utilize smaller vans or buses without any fixed schedule or route. This resource includes case studies on DRT that could be applied in healthy food priority areas to increase access to healthy foods.

Law and policy play a critical role in shaping health outcomes especially when it comes to racial health equity. While legislative actions and trends matter, it is also important to understand the role of the courts in altering legal landscapes in ways that can positively or negatively impact racial health disparities. This fact sheet highlights four 2023 U.S. Supreme Court cases with examples of how each potentially impacts racial health equity. It also provides a further examination of two cases of the cases that can be classified as wins for racial health equity.

Pregnancy, giving birth, and being postpartum while incarcerated are linked to negative health impacts as people who are incarcerated are not provided adequate prenatal and postpartum care, and experience trauma from the experience. One policy that supports the health of pregnant people who are incarcerated is mandating access to safe and effective abortion care for those who do not want to be pregnant or give birth while incarcerated. This issue brief examines current state laws regarding access to abortion in carceral facilities in the states where abortion is generally available by law.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), has indicated that he may lift the FDA’s ban on the interstate sale of raw milk and introduce voluntary raw milk standards for states to adopt. To prepare for these potential federal regulatory changes, states should be aware of their authority to regulate the intrastate sale of raw milk and consider implementing regulations that further minimize consumer risk. This Fact Sheet provides a background on raw milk and potential federal regulatory changes, along with strategies for states to prepare for this change.

Gun violence, accidental and intentional is the number one killer of children and teens in the U.S., surpassing all other causes of death, including car crashes. While access to firearms in the home is a significant contributing factor, the majority of U.S. gun owners do not practice safe firearm storage. There are no federal laws requiring the safe storage of guns. However, several states have passed Safe Storage laws, which are associated with significantly reduced risk of youth injury and death from firearms.

School-entry vaccination requirements have proven to be one of the most effective public health tools for reducing childhood illness, preventing premature deaths, and controlling the spread of infectious diseases across populations. While recent shifts in federal leadership raise concerns about the future of national immunization efforts, the authority and responsibility to maintain vaccine mandates largely rest with state and local governments. This Fact Sheet outlines how states are well-positioned to uphold and adapt their vaccination policies to protect public health, regardless of federal changes.