31-5-1. Adoption of rules and regulations.

All rules and regulations of the Department of Public Health and any county board of health shall be adopted after due notice to and hearing by persons and parties affected thereby; and such rules and regulations shall be maintained in a book kept for that purpose, orderly arranged and indexed and subject to inspection by the public during regular business hours. The agency adopting such rules and regulations shall make copies thereof available for distribution to persons interested in or affected thereby. Such agencies are also authorized to provide for the mimeographing, printing, or other reproduction of their regulations and the distribution thereof. No rule or regulation shall become effective as law until 30 days after its adoption, except in cases of emergencies constituting an imminent threat to the public, in which event such rules or regulations shall become effective upon adoption; but, in all such cases, the agency adopting same shall as a part thereof state the conditions found by it to justify such immediate effectiveness. Where deemed desirable by the agency, hearing and notice as provided in Code Section 31-5-2 may be conducted by it prior to adoption of any rule or regulation.