SB114: relative to the threshold for notification for lead levels and a window replacement program.

CHAPTER 256

SB 114 – FINAL VERSION

03/25/09 0863s

29Apr2009… 1331h

03Jun2009… 1796h

06/24/09 2122CofC

2009 SESSION

09-0892

01/05

SENATE BILL 114

AN ACT relative to the threshold for notification for lead levels and a window replacement program.

SPONSORS: Sen. DeVries, Dist 18; Sen. Cilley, Dist 6; Rep. Benn, Graf 9; Rep. Rosenwald, Hills 22; Rep. Case, Rock 1

COMMITTEE: Health and Human Services

AMENDED ANALYSIS

This bill lowers the threshold for notifying the owner of property where a child resides for the presence of lead levels in the child’s blood. This bill also requires the commissioner of the department of health and human services to establish a window replacement program which would be available to owners of dwellings and dwelling units when the commissioner determines there are moneys available for such program.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

03/25/09 0863s

29Apr2009… 1331h

03Jun2009… 1796h

06/24/09 2122CofC

09-0892

01/05

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Nine

AN ACT relative to the threshold for notification for lead levels and a window replacement program.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

256:1 New Paragraph; Lead Paint; Window Replacement Program. Amend RSA 130-A:2 by inserting after paragraph II the following new paragraph:

III. The commissioner shall establish, in accordance with rules adopted under RSA 541-A, a window replacement program. The program shall be made available to owners of dwellings and dwelling units and funded by the lead poisoning prevention fund, established in RSA 130-A:15, and other available moneys, when the commissioner determines there are enough moneys in such fund to sustain such a program. Pilot projects may begin as soon as funds are available. The commissioner shall make a report on the parameters of the program, funding acquired and sought, and program expenditures to the health and human services oversight committee, established in RSA 126-A:13, and to the chairperson of the house ways and means committee on or before September 1, 2010.

256:2 Lead Levels; Property Owner Notification. Amend RSA 130-A:6-a, I and II to read as follows:

I. The department shall make reasonable efforts to notify in writing the owner of a dwelling or dwelling unit where the child resides if lead levels of [7.5] 6 to 9.9 micrograms per deciliter are found in the child’s blood. Such notice to the property owner shall specify that it is neither a finding that a lead exposure hazard exists in the property nor is it an order for lead hazard reduction.

II. Eviction of a tenant based on the presence in the dwelling or dwelling unit of a child with a blood level of [7.5] 6 to 9.9 micrograms per deciliter shall be unlawful. There shall be a rebuttable presumption that any eviction action, instituted by the owner within 6 months of receipt of the notice sent by the department pursuant to paragraph I, is based on the child’s elevated blood lead level; provided that this shall not be construed to alter any cause for eviction under RSA 540:2. If a court finds that an eviction is based on the child’s elevated blood lead level, it shall deny the eviction and award damages to the tenant pursuant to RSA 540:14, II. However, if an owner in response to the notice from the department discovers a lead exposure hazard in the dwelling or dwelling unit, the owner may proceed with relocation of the tenants, provided that the owner meets the requirements of RSA 130-A:8-a, I or II.

256:3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.

Approved: July 16, 2009

Effective Date: September 14, 2009