Sen. Carol Ronen

Filed: 5/17/2007

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 942

2     AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 942, AS AMENDED, by
3 replacing everything after the enacting clause with the
4 following:
 
5     "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
6 Comprehensive Lead Education, Reduction, and Window
7 Replacement Program Act.
 
8     Section 5. Findings; intent; establishment of program.
9     (a) The General Assembly finds all of the following:
10         (1) Lead-based paint poisoning is a potentially
11     devastating, but preventable disease. It is one of the top
12     environmental threats to children's health in the United
13     States.
14         (2) The number of lead-poisoned children in Illinois is
15     among the highest in the nation, especially in older, more
16     affordable properties.

 

 

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1         (3) Lead poisoning causes irreversible damage to the
2     development of a child's nervous system. Even at low and
3     moderate levels, lead poisoning causes learning
4     disabilities, problems with speech, shortened attention
5     span, hyperactivity, and behavioral problems. Recent
6     research links low levels of lead exposure to lower IQ
7     scores and to juvenile delinquency.
8         (4) Older housing is the number one risk factor for
9     childhood lead poisoning. Properties built before 1950 are
10     statistically much more likely to contain lead-based paint
11     hazards than buildings constructed more recently.
12         (5) The State of Illinois ranks 10th out of the 50
13     states in the age of its housing stock. More than 50% of
14     the housing units in Chicago and in Rock Island, Peoria,
15     Macon, Madison, and Kankakee counties were built before
16     1960. More than 43% of the housing units in St. Clair,
17     Winnebago, Sangamon, Kane, and Cook counties were built
18     before 1950.
19         (6) There are nearly 1.4 million households with
20     lead-based paint hazards in Illinois.
21         (7) Most children are lead poisoned in their own homes
22     through exposure to lead dust from deteriorated lead paint
23     surfaces, like windows, and when lead paint deteriorates or
24     is disturbed through home renovation and repainting.
25         (8) Less than 25% of children in Illinois age 6 and
26     under have been tested for lead poisoning. While children

 

 

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1     are lead poisoned throughout Illinois, counties above the
2     statewide average include: Alexander, Cass, Cook, Fulton,
3     Greene, Kane, Kankakee, Knox, LaSalle, Macon, Mercer,
4     Peoria, Perry, Rock Island, Sangamon, St. Clair,
5     Stephenson, Vermilion, Will, and Winnebago.
6         (9) The control of lead hazards significantly reduces
7     lead poisoning rates. Other communities, including New
8     York City and Milwaukee, have successfully reduced lead
9     poisoning rates by removing lead-based paint hazards on
10     windows.
11         (10) Windows are considered a higher lead exposure risk
12     more often than other components in a housing unit. Windows
13     are a major contributor of lead dust in the home, due to
14     both weathering conditions and friction effects on paint.
15         (11) There is an insufficient pool of licensed lead
16     abatement workers and contractors to address the problem in
17     some areas of the State.
18         (12) Through grants from the U.S. Department of Housing
19     and Urban Development, some communities in Illinois have
20     begun to reduce lead poisoning of children. While this is
21     an ongoing effort, it only addresses a small number of the
22     low-income children statewide in communities with high
23     levels of lead paint in the housing stock.
24     (b) It is the intent of the General Assembly to:
25         (1) address the problem of lead poisoning of children
26     by eliminating lead hazards in homes;

 

 

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1         (2) provide training within communities to encourage
2     the use of lead-paint safe work practices;
3         (3) create job opportunities for community members in
4     the lead abatement industry;
5         (4) support the efforts of small business and property
6     owners committed to maintaining lead-safe housing; and
7         (5) assist in the maintenance of affordable lead-safe
8     housing stock.
9     (c) The General Assembly hereby establishes the
10 Comprehensive Lead Education, Reduction, and Window
11 Replacement Program to assist residential property owners
12 through loan and grant programs to reduce lead paint hazards
13 through window replacement in pilot area communities. Where
14 there is a lack of workers trained to remove lead-based paint
15 hazards, job-training programs must be initiated. The General
16 Assembly also recognizes that training, insurance, and
17 licensing costs are prohibitively high and hereby establishes
18 incentives for contractors to do lead abatement work.
 
19     Section 10. Definitions. In this Act:
20     "Advisory Council" refers to the Lead Safe Housing Advisory
21 Council established under Public Act 93-0789.
22     "CLEAR-WIN Program" refers to the Comprehensive Lead
23 Education, Reduction, and Window Replacement Program created
24 pursuant to this Act to assist property owners of single family
25 homes and multi-unit residential properties in pilot area

 

 

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1 communities, through loan and grant programs that reduce
2 lead-paint hazards primarily through window replacement and,
3 where necessary, through other lead-based paint hazard control
4 techniques.
5     "Director" means the Director of Public Health.
6     "Lead Safe Housing Maintenance Standards" refers to the
7 standards developed by the Lead Safe Housing Advisory Council.
8     "Low-income" means a household at or below 80% of the
9 median income level for a given county as determined annually
10 by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
11     "Pilot area communities" means the counties or cities
12 selected by the Department, with the advice of the Advisory
13 Council, where properties whose owners are eligible for the
14 assistance provided by this Act are located.
15     "Window" means the inside, outside, and sides of sashes and
16 mullions and the frames to the outside edge of the frame,
17 including sides, sash guides, and window wells and sills.
 
18     Section 15. Grant and loan program.
19     (a) Subject to appropriation, the Department, in
20 consultation with the Advisory Council, shall establish and
21 operate the CLEAR-WIN Program in two pilot area communities
22 selected by the Department with advice from the Advisory
23 Council. Pilot area communities shall be selected based upon
24 the prevalence of low-income families whose children are lead
25 poisoned, the age of the housing stock, and other sources of

 

 

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1 funding available to the communities to address lead based
2 paint hazards.
3     (b) The Department shall be responsible for administering
4 the CLEAR-WIN grant program. The grant shall be used to correct
5 lead-based paint hazards in residential buildings. Conditions
6 for receiving a grant shall be developed by the Department
7 based on criteria established by the Advisory Council.
8 Criteria, including but not limited to the following program
9 components, shall include (i) income eligibility for receipt of
10 the grants, with priority given to low-income tenants or owners
11 who rent to low income tenants; (ii) properties to be covered
12 under CLEAR-WIN; and (iii) the number of units to be covered in
13 a property. Prior to making a grant, the Department must
14 provide the grant recipient with a copy of the Lead Safe
15 Housing Maintenance Standards generated by the Advisory
16 Council. The property owner must certify that he or she has
17 received the Standards and intends to comply with them; has
18 provided a copy of the Standards to all tenants in the
19 building; will continue to rent to the same tenant or other
20 low-income tenant for a period of not less than 5 years
21 following completion of the work; and will continue to maintain
22 the property as lead-safe. Failure to comply with the grant
23 conditions may result in repayment of grant funds.
24     (c) The Advisory Council shall also consider development of
25 a loan program to assist property owners not eligible for
26 grants.

 

 

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1     (d) All lead-based paint hazard control work performed with
2 these grant or loan funds shall be conducted in conformance
3 with the Lead Poisoning Prevention Act and the Illinois Lead
4 Poisoning Prevention Code. Before contractors are paid for
5 repair work conducted under the CLEAR-WIN Program, each
6 dwelling unit assisted must be inspected by a lead risk
7 assessor or lead inspector licensed in Illinois, and an
8 appropriate number of dust samples must be collected from in
9 and around the work areas for lead analysis, with results in
10 compliance with levels set by the Lead Poisoning Prevention Act
11 and the Illinois Lead Poisoning Prevention Code. All costs of
12 evaluation shall be the responsibility of the property owner
13 who received the grant or loan, but will be provided for by the
14 Department for grant recipients and may be included in the
15 amount of the loan. Additional repairs and clean-up costs
16 associated with a failed clearance test, including follow-up
17 tests, shall be the responsibility of the contractor.
18     (e) Within 6 months after the effective date of this Act,
19 the Advisory Council shall recommend to the Department Lead
20 Safe Housing Maintenance Standards for purposes of the
21 CLEAR-WIN Program. Except for properties where all lead-based
22 paint has been removed, the standards shall describe the
23 responsibilities of property owners and tenants in maintaining
24 lead-safe housing, including but not limited to, prescribing
25 special cleaning, repair, and maintenance necessary to reduce
26 the chance that properties will cause lead poisoning in child

 

 

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1 occupants. Recipients of CLEAR-WIN grants and loans shall be
2 required to continue to maintain their properties in compliance
3 with these Lead Safe Housing Maintenance Standards. Failure to
4 maintain properties in accordance with these Standards, may
5 result in repayment of grant funds or termination of the loan.
 
6     Section 20. Lead-abatement training. The Advisory Council
7 shall determine whether a sufficient number of lead abatement
8 training programs exist to serve the pilot sites. If it is
9 determined additional programs are needed, the Advisory
10 Council shall work with the Department to establish the
11 additional training programs for purposes of the CLEAR-WIN
12 Program.
 
13     Section 25. Insurance assistance. The Department shall
14 make available, for the portion of a policy related to lead
15 activities, 100% insurance subsidies to licensed lead
16 abatement contractors who primarily target their work to the
17 pilot area communities and employ a significant number of
18 licensed lead abatement workers from the pilot area
19 communities. Receipt of the subsidies shall be reviewed
20 annually by the Department. The Department shall adopt rules
21 for implementation of these insurance subsidies within 6 months
22 after the effective date of this Act.
 
23     Section 30. Advisory Council. The Advisory Council shall

 

 

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1 submit an annual written report to the Governor and General
2 Assembly on the operation and effectiveness of the CLEAR-WIN
3 Program. The report must evaluate the program's effectiveness
4 on reducing the prevalence of lead poisoning in children in the
5 pilot area communities and in training and employing persons in
6 the pilot area communities. The report also must describe the
7 numbers of units in which lead-based paint was abated; specify
8 the type of work completed and the types of dwellings and
9 demographics of persons assisted; summarize the cost of
10 lead-based paint hazard control and CLEAR-WIN Program
11 administration; rent increases or decreases in the pilot area
12 communities; rental property ownership changes; and any other
13 CLEAR-WIN actions taken by the Department or the Advisory
14 Council and recommend any necessary legislation or rule-making
15 to improve the effectiveness of the CLEAR-WIN Program.".