Committee advances bill allowing former homeowners to request radon test results from DEP

The House Environmental Committee reported out House Bill 448, which would amend the Radon Certification Act to allow previous property owners to request radon test results from the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for the period they owned a given home.

Sponsor Rep. Diamond said the change would help former owners who are seeking medical answers by giving doctors access to historical radon data. “Radon is a colorless, odorless radioactive gas… having access to the information about, you know, where it is in their home is imperative,” Rep. Diamond said.

Committee staff summarized the bill: “House Bill 448 allows DEP to release radon test results to previous property owners under certain circumstances,” and members discussed who would be eligible to make requests. Rep. Salisbury asked whether previous homeowners would be notified automatically or would have to request the data; committee staff said the record is held by the department and previous owners would need to request records for the period they owned the property.

Representatives also asked whether tenants could qualify; the sponsor said the bill’s language applies to homeowners/property owners and that staff could be consulted about expanding eligibility.

Following brief discussion, committee members took a roll call and the chair announced the bill was reported out of committee.

The committee did not adopt amendments to change eligibility language at this meeting. Implementation details — for example, whether tenants or residents with other proofs of occupancy would be covered — were left to staff review or future drafting.