BILL NUMBER: S6228
SPONSOR: BAILEY
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the labor law and the executive law, in relation to
establishing the "New York state lead-safe renovation, repair and paint-
ing act"
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA:
To enable New York State to assume administration of the lead-safe reno-
vation, repair and painting (RRP) rules, allowing New York to conduct
training, certification, and enforcement of the lead-safe renovation,
repair and painting projects and programs.
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1. Amends the labor law by adding a new article 31-A.
925. Title: New York State Lead-Safe Renovation, Repair and Painting
Act.
926. Legislative findings: The legislature hereby finds and declares
that lead poisoning of children persists as one of the most prevalent
and preventable environmental diseases in New York.
927. Definitions: Lead-based paint, in part means paint or other similar
surface coating material containing 1.0 milligrams of lead per square
centimeter or greater. Lead dust clearance, in part means mass-per-area
concentrations of lead less than 5 micrograms of lead per square foot on
floors and less than 40 micrograms per square foot on interior window-
sills.
928. Residential property renovation: The commissioner shall adopt regu-
lations, sufficient to satisfy the requirements of 40 C.F.R. 745.326 or
successor regulation, governing a) pre-renovation education programs,
procedures and requirements for the distribution of lead hazard informa-
tion to owners and occupants of target housing and child-occupied facil-
ities before renovations for compensation.
Section 2. Paragraphs h and i of subdivision 1 of section 381 of the
Executive Law, as added by chapter 560 of the laws of 2010, are amended
and a new paragraph j is added to read as follows: procedures requiring
the documentation of compliance with the regulations adopted pursuant to
section 928 of the labor law as a condition to issuance of a
construction permit.
Section 3. Paragraphs i and j of subdivision 1 of section 381 of the
executive law, paragraph i as amended and paragraph j as added by
section 3 of part T of chapter 57 of the laws of 2023, are amended and a
new paragraph k is added to read as follows: procedures requiring the
documentation of compliance with the regulations adopted pursuant to
section 928 of the labor law as a condition to issuance of a
construction permit.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Multiple studies by the NYS Department of Health have found that a
significant number of child lead poisoning cases were related to home
renovation, repair, and painting ("RRP") activities, which if not
performed safely can cause the spread of toxic lead dust. Since 2008,
federal law has required the use of specified safe work practices and
training for RRP work in pre-1978 residential dwellings performed by
hired contractors. While the federal RRP rules permit states to assume
enforcement of this program, New York (unlike many states) has not done
so -- even though New York State has the highest number of older resi-
dential dwellings with lead-based paint in the nation, and as well the
highest number of childhood lead poisoning cases in the nation. This has
left enforcement to the federal EPA, which has consistently failed to
bring adequate resources to ensure compliance, as EPA's Inspector Gener-
al reported in 2019. For example, EPA has just 3.5 inspectors to cover a
vast region consisting of New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the
Virgin Islands.
The proposed bill would enable NY to assume administration of the RRP
rules, allowing New York to conduct training, certification, and
enforcement of the RRP. The proposal would also require the use of
empirically based dust wipe clearance tests (rather than the problematic
"cleaning verification" used in the federal regulations) to ensure prop-
er cleaning of hazardous lead dust once work is completed. The fees for
accreditation of persons to do this work would be used to fund the
program. A detailed report from the Community Foundation of Buffalo
estimated that this bill would protect some 140,000 children under age 6
each year from lead hazard exposure in some 483,000 homes undergoing RRP
work annually.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A former version of this bill had differing violation amounts. This bill
matches with its counterpart in the Assembly.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATION FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None to the state.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Sixty days after becoming a law, with provisions.