42 journal of law, medicine & ethics Introduction Information is the fourth core element of public health legal preparedness and of legal preparedness for public health emergencies specifcally. Clearly, the creation, transmittal, and application of information are vital to all public health endeavors. The critical signifcance of information grows exponentially as the complexity and scale of public threats increase. Only a small body of organized information on public health law existed before the 21st century: a series of landmark books published beginning in 1926 by Tobey, 1 Grad (1965), 2 and Wing (1974); 3 model public health laws published as early as 1907; 4 systematic reviews of original research studies pub- lished in the 1990s; 5 and a small but growing num- ber of articles published in public health journals and law reviews. With the new century came new public health law programs and activities at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in public health pro- fessional associations, and in numerous non-proft and academic organizations. Many of these have developed valuable, new information resources for practitioners and policymakers, undergirded by com- prehensive new texts that position public health law in the Constitutional framework 6 and that articu- late the close relationship between public health law as a discipline and as a tool for practitioners and policymakers. 7 This paper assesses the status of information resources about public health emergency legal pre- paredness, identifes gaps in information on law that may detract from the ability of public health practitio- ners and policymakers – along with their counterparts in other agencies and private-sector organizations – to perform public health emergency roles, and suggests opportunities for improving information resources for public health legal preparedness. Assessment This section is organized around the frst two phases of all-hazards emergency preparedness: the pre-event phase where work focuses on maximizing prepared- ness; and the event phase where efforts are mounted to minimize the health consequences of an actual, unfolding emergency. We address the information needs of users of information across some of the sec- tors and disciplines that have key roles in public health emergency preparedness and response. These include, for example: local, state, and federal public health off- cials; their colleagues in emergency management, law enforcement, and other agencies; elected officials; local and state boards of health; health care provid- ers; non-profit emergency response organizations; and legal counsel to all of these. Also important are counterparts in other countries and in international agencies such as the World Health Organization and INTERPOL. Clifford M. Rees, J.D., is an Adjunct Faculty at the University of New Mexico, School of Medicine; he is also a Senior Researcher at the Center for Disaster Medicine. Daniel O’Brien, Jr., J.D., is the Principal Counsel and Assistant Attorney General of the State of Maryland at the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Peter A. Briss, M.D., M.P.H., is the Science Offcer at the Coordinating Center for Environmental Health and Injury Prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Joan Miles, M.S., J.D., is the Director of the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services. Poki Namkung, M.D., M.P.H., is the Health Offcer at the Santa Cruz County Public Health Department in California. Patrick M. Libbey is the Execu- tive Director of the National Association of County and City Health Offcials. Assessing Information and Best Practices for Public Health Emergency Legal Preparedness Clifford M. Rees, Daniel O’Brien, Jr., Peter A. Briss, Joan Miles, Poki Namkung, and Patrick M. Libbey