Ala. Code § 22-3-9

In counties in which there are no health officers, and in counties in which, although there are health officers, adequate provision has not, in the opinion of the State Board of Health, been made for the proper notification, investigation and control of notifiable diseases and in localities in which the local health authorities fail to carry out the provision of the health laws of the state and the rules and regulations of the State Board of Health, the State Board of Health may appoint properly qualified sanitary officers to act as local health officers and to prevent the spread of disease in, and from, such localities and to enforce said laws, rules and regulations.