Sen. David Koehler

Filed: 3/7/2019

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 1559

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 1559 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Tenants Radon Protection Act.
 
6    Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly finds that:
7    Radon is the leading cause of death in private homes and a
8radioactive element that is part of the radioactive decay chain
9of naturally occurring uranium in soil. Unlike carbon monoxide
10and many other home pollutants, radon's adverse health effect,
11lung cancer, is usually not produced immediately.
 
12    Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
13    "Dwelling unit" means a room or suite of rooms used for
14human habitation. "Dwelling unit" includes a mobile home, a
15single family residence, each living unit of a multiple family

 

 

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1residence, and each living unit in a mixed use building.
2    "IEMA" means the Illinois Emergency Management Agency.
3    "Landlord" means any person or entity leasing a dwelling
4unit to a tenant, and includes, but is not limited to, an
5individual, company, corporation, firm, group, association,
6partnership, joint venture, trust, government agency, or
7subdivision thereof.
8    "Lease" means an oral or written agreement under which a
9property owner allows a tenant to use the property for a
10specified rent and period of time.
11    "Mitigation" means the act of repairing or altering a
12building or building design for the purpose, in whole or in
13part, of reducing the concentration of radon in the indoor
14atmosphere according to procedures described in 32 Ill. Adm.
15Code 422.
16    "Mobile home" has the meaning provided in the Manufactured
17Home Quality Assurance Act.
18    "Radon" means a gaseous radioactive decay product of
19uranium or thorium.
20    "Radon contractor" means a person licensed under the Radon
21Industry Licensing Act to perform radon mitigation or to
22perform measurements of radon in an indoor atmosphere.
23    "Radon hazard" means exposure to indoor radon
24concentrations at or in excess of the IEMA's recommended Radon
25Action Level.
26    "Radon test" means a measurement of indoor radon

 

 

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1concentrations in accordance with the provisions of 32 Ill.
2Adm. Code 422 for performing radon measurements.
3    "Tenant" means a person who is about to enter or has
4entered into an oral or written lease with a landlord to lease
5a dwelling unit.
 
6    Section 15. Radon testing and disclosure.
7    (a) At the time of or before a lease is entered into, and
8at any time that a lease is in effect, the landlord shall
9provide to each tenant in a dwelling unit copies of any records
10or reports pertaining to radon concentrations within the
11dwelling unit that indicate a radon hazard to the tenant, as
12provided in subsection (e).
13    (b) If a tenant performs a radon test, the tenant shall
14provide to the landlord copies of any records or reports
15pertaining to radon concentrations within 10 days after
16receiving the measurement result.
17    (c) Nothing in this Section is intended to or shall be
18construed to imply an obligation of a landlord or tenant to
19conduct any radon testing activities.
20    (d) The landlord shall provide to the tenant the IEMA
21pamphlet entitled "IEMA Radon Guide for Tenants" or an
22equivalent pamphlet approved for use by IEMA.
23    (e) The following Disclosure of Information on Radon
24Hazards to Tenants shall be provided to each tenant of a
25dwelling unit:
 

 

 

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1
"DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION ON RADON HAZARDS TO TENANTS"

 
2    Radon Warning Statement
3    Each tenant in this residence is notified that the property
4    may present exposure to levels of indoor radon gas that may
5    place the occupants at risk of developing radon-induced
6    lung cancer. Radon, a Class-A human carcinogen, is the
7    leading cause of death in private homes and the leading
8    cause of lung cancer in non-smokers. The landlord of any
9    residence is required to provide each tenant with any
10    information on radon test results of the dwelling unit that
11    present a radon hazard to the tenant.
12    The Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) strongly
13    recommends that ALL rental properties have a radon test
14    performed and radon hazards mitigated if elevated levels
15    are found in a dwelling unit or a routinely occupied area
16    of a multiple family residence. Elevated radon
17    concentrations can easily be reduced by a radon contractor.
18    Property address: ..................................
19    Landlord's Disclosure (initial each of the following which
20    applies)
21    (a) ...... Landlord has no knowledge of elevated radon
22    concentrations (or records or reports pertaining to
23    elevated radon concentrations) in the dwelling unit.
24    (b) ...... Radon concentrations (above the IEMA

 

 

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1    recommended Radon Action Level 4.0 pCi/L) are known to be
2    present within the dwelling unit.
3    (c) ...... Landlord has provided the tenant with copies of
4    all available records and reports pertaining to radon
5    concentrations within the dwelling unit.
6    Tenant's Acknowledgment (initial)
7    (d) ...... Tenant has received copies of all information
8    listed above.
9    (e) ...... Tenant has received the pamphlet "IEMA Radon
10    Guide for Tenants".
11    Certification of Accuracy
12    The following parties have reviewed the information above
13    and each party certifies, to the best of his or her
14    knowledge, that the information he or she provided is true
15    and accurate.
 
16    Landlord ...............           Date ...............
 
17    Tenant   ...............           Date ...............
 
18    Section 20. Mitigation of radon hazard.
19    (a) If a landlord disputes the results of a radon test
20performed by a tenant, the landlord may hire a radon contractor
21to perform a radon test within 30 days after the tenant
22notifies the landlord of the results of his or her radon test.
23This measurement by a radon contractor is valid for a period of

 

 

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12 years after the date of the testing unless any renovations,
2additions, or modifications are made to the building.
3    (b) Landlords deciding to have radon mitigation performed
4shall have the mitigation system installed by a radon
5contractor.
6    (c) Tenants deciding to have radon mitigation performed
7shall have the mitigation system installed by a radon
8contractor. Tenants shall have the landlord's consent prior to
9undertaking any mitigation activities.
10    (d) Nothing in this Section is intended or shall be
11construed to imply an obligation of a landlord or tenant to
12conduct any radon testing or mitigation activities.
 
13    Section 25. Termination of lease.
14    (a) A tenant has the right to terminate a lease if the
15landlord has failed to correct the radon hazard within 120 days
16after having been initially informed of a radon hazard.
17    (b) A landlord of a dwelling unit vacated by a tenant in
18accordance with subsection (a), who has received a security
19deposit from a tenant to secure the payment of rent or to
20compensate for damage to the leased property, may not withhold
21any part of that deposit as compensation for radon testing or
22mitigation activities. However, the landlord may withhold part
23of the security deposit in cases where the tenant had a
24mitigation system installed without the landlord's consent and
25the system was not properly installed by a radon contractor. An

 

 

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1itemized statement must be provided to the tenant if any part
2of the security deposit is withheld.
 
3    Section 30. Home rule. A home rule unit may not regulate
4lease agreements in a manner that diminishes the rights of
5tenants under this Act. This Section is a limitation under
6subsection (i) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois
7Constitution on the concurrent exercise by home rule units of
8powers and functions exercised by the State.
 
9    Section 99. The Illinois Radon Awareness Act is amended by
10repealing Section 25.
 
11    Section 999. Effective date. This Act takes effect January
121, 2020.".