Public Act 93-0348

HB3229 Enrolled                      LRB093 11083 MBS 12133 b

    AN ACT concerning environmental protection.

    Be it enacted by the People of  the  State  of  Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:

    Section  5.  The Lead Poisoning Prevention Act is amended
by adding Section 11.05 as follows:

    (410 ILCS 45/11.05 new)
    Sec. 11.05.  Advisory Council.
    (a)  The General Assembly finds the following:
         (1)  Lead-based paint  poisoning  is  a  potentially
    devastating but preventable disease and is the number one
    environmental  threat  to children's health in the United
    States.
         (2)  The  number  of   lead-poisoned   children   in
    Illinois  is  among the highest in the nation, especially
    in older, affordable properties.
         (3)  Lead poisoning causes  irreversible  damage  to
    the  development of a child's nervous system. Even at low
    and  moderate  levels,  lead  poisoning  causes  learning
    disabilities, speech problems, shortened attention  span,
    hyperactivity,  and  behavioral problems. Recent research
    links high levels of lead exposure to lower IQ scores and
    to juvenile delinquency.
         (4)  Older housing is the number one risk factor for
    childhood lead poisoning. Properties  built  before  1950
    are  statistically much more likely to contain lead-based
    paint hazards than buildings constructed more recently.
         (5)  Illinois ranks 10th out of the 50 states in the
    age of its housing stock. More than 50%  of  the  housing
    units  in  Chicago  and  in  Rock  Island, Peoria, Macon,
    Madison, and Kankakee counties were built before 1960 and
    more  than  43%  of  the  housing  units  in  St.  Clair,
    Winnebago, Sangamon, Kane, and Cook counties  were  built
    before 1950.
         (6)  There  are  nearly  1.4 million households with
    lead-based paint hazards in Illinois.
         (7)  Most children are lead-poisoned  in  their  own
    homes  through  exposure  to  lead dust from deteriorated
    lead-paint surfaces, like windows, and  when  lead  paint
    deteriorates  or is disturbed through home renovation and
    repainting.
         (8)  The  control  of  lead  hazards   significantly
    reduces   lead   poisoning   rates.   Other  communities,
    including New York City and Milwaukee, have  successfully
    reduced lead poisoning rates by removing lead-based paint
    hazards on windows.
         (9)  Windows  are  considered a higher lead exposure
    risk more often than other components in a housing  unit.
    Windows are a major contributor of lead dust in the home,
    due to both weathering conditions and friction effects on
    paint.
         (10)  There is an insufficient pool of licensed lead
    abatement  workers and contractors to address the problem
    in some areas of the State.
         (11)  Training, insurance, and licensing  costs  for
    lead removal workers are prohibitively high.
         (12)  Through   grants   from   the   United  States
    Department  of  Housing  and  Urban   Development,   some
    communities   in  Illinois  have  begun  to  reduce  lead
    poisoning of children. While this is an  ongoing  effort,
    it  addresses  only  a  small  number  of  the low-income
    children statewide in communities  with  high  levels  of
    lead paint in the housing stock.
    (b)  For purposes of this Section:
    "Advisory  Council"  means the Lead-Safe Housing Advisory
Council created under subsection (c).
    "Lead-Safe Housing Maintenance Standards" or  "Standards"
means standards developed by the Advisory Council pursuant to
this Section.
    "Low-income"  means  a  household  at or below 80% of the
median income level for a given county as determined annually
by  the  United  States  Department  of  Housing  and   Urban
Development.
    "Primary prevention" means removing lead hazards before a
child  is poisoned rather than relying on identification of a
lead poisoned child as the triggering event.
    (c)  The Lead-Safe Housing Advisory Council is created to
advise  the   Department   on   lead   poisoning   prevention
activities.  The  Advisory  Council  shall  be chaired by the
Director or his or her designee and the chair of the Illinois
Lead Safe Housing Task Force and provided with administrative
support by the Department.  The  Advisory  Council  shall  be
comprised  of  (i)  the directors, or their designees, of the
Illinois Housing Development Authority and the  Environmental
Protection   Agency;   and   (ii)  the  directors,  or  their
designees,  of  public   health   departments   of   counties
identified  by the Department that contain communities with a
concentration of high-risk, lead-contaminated properties.
    The Advisory Council shall  also  include  the  following
members appointed by the Governor:
         (1)  One    representative    from    the   Illinois
    Association of Realtors.
         (2)  One representative from the insurance industry.
         (3)  Two  pediatricians  or  other  physicians  with
    knowledge of lead-paint poisoning.
         (4)  Two representatives  from  the  private-sector,
    lead-based-paint-abatement  industry  who are licensed in
    Illinois as an  abatement  contractor,  worker,  or  risk
    assessor.
         (5)  Two   representatives   from   community  based
    organizations in communities with a concentration of high
    risk lead contaminated properties. High-risk  communities
    shall   be   identified  based  upon  the  prevalence  of
    low-income families whose children are lead poisoned  and
    the age of the housing stock.
         (6)  At   least   3   lead-safe  housing  advocates,
    including  (i)  the  parent  of  a  lead-poisoned  child,
    (ii)  a   representative   from    a    child    advocacy
    organization,  and  (iii)  a representative from a tenant
    housing organization.
    Within 9 months after its formation, the Advisory Council
shall submit a written report to the Governor and the General
Assembly on:
         (1)  developing a  primary  prevention  program  for
    addressing lead poisoning;
         (2)  developing  a sufficient pool of lead abatement
    workers and contractors;
         (3)  targeting  blood  lead  screening  to  children
    residing in high-risk buildings and neighborhoods;
         (4)  ensuring  lead-safe  work  practices   in   all
    remodeling, rehabilitation, and weatherization work;
         (5)  funding   mechanisms   to   assist  residential
    property  owners  in  costs   of   lead   abatement   and
    mitigation;
         (6)  providing  insurance subsidies to licensed lead
    abatement contractors who target their work to  high-risk
    communities; and
         (7)  developing   any   necessary   legislation   or
    rulemaking  to  improve  the  effectiveness  of State and
    local programs in lead abatement and other prevention and
    control activities.
    The Advisory Council shall develop handbooks and training
for property owners and tenants explaining the Standards  and
State and federal requirements for lead-safe housing.
    The  Advisory Council shall meet at least quarterly.  Its
members shall receive no compensation for their services, but
their reasonable travel expenses actually incurred  shall  be
reimbursed by the Department.