Committee hears wide support for bill to create indoor air‑quality task force for highly impacted communities

Indoor air quality drew sustained testimony Tuesday as public‑health, environmental‑justice and scientific groups urged the Joint Committee on Public Health to advance House Bill 24‑27 and Senate Bill 15‑46.

The bills would create a state task force to develop statutory and regulatory recommendations to identify, monitor and remediate indoor air pollution and mold in high‑risk buildings such as schools, long‑term care facilities and public housing. Witnesses said gaps in standards, enforcement and agency capacity currently leave residents — particularly in environmental‑justice communities — at risk.

The National and community stakes: The bill “establishes a task force to bring together all the relevant stakeholders to develop a statutory and regulatory framework to identify, monitor, and remediate indoor air pollution and indoor mold contamination,” said Paulina Muratore, director of transportation justice and infrastructure at the Conservation Law Foundation. Muratore said the task force would also identify funding sources and recommend a timeline for completing the work.

Alexis Walls, campaign director at the Massachusetts Public Health Alliance, said the bill was a focused step to address a “largely overlooked crisis of indoor air pollution” and noted indoor exposures contribute to disease across the lifespan. “We are encouraged to see this committee making air quality a legislative priority this session,” Walls said.

Scientific priorities: Kevin Shen, an analyst with the Union of Concerned Scientists, urged the committee to include monitoring for ultrafine particulate matter and black carbon in any regulatory framework, citing gaps in federal regulation and research showing those pollutants can penetrate lung tissue and pose cardiovascular and neurological risks. “Indoor air pollution exposure from pollutants that come from the outdoors accounts for 40 to 60 percent of the health effects of particulate pollution in the U.S.,” Shen said.

Community testimony and pilots: Community groups described local work and pilot projects measuring indoor exposures and testing filtration. Tristan Thomas, director of policy at Alternatives for Community and Environment, described pilot projects and student‑led monitoring in Roxbury that have documented elevated exposures and pointed to improvements with HEPA filtration. Emmanuel DePaurozo of ACE described a Roxbury pilot in which households receiving portable HEPA filters saw reductions in PM2.5 levels.

Residents gave personal testimony about health impacts in heavily burdened communities. Ariana Perdomo of GreenRoots described family experience caring for an immunocompromised parent and called for monitoring and transparency so residents know the indoor hazards they face. Sonja Tengbald of Mothers Out Front described projects to place HEPA filters in schools and day cares and said many East Boston schools lack central HVAC systems.

Technical and standards input: Witnesses from the inspection, cleaning and restoration field urged that task‑force membership include practitioners with field experience in mold identification, HVAC assessment and remediation. Cole Stanton, a consultant and volunteer with the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC), recommended the task force examine existing industry standards such as the IICRC S520 for mold remediation.

Committee response and next steps: Committee chairs and members asked about how the task force would interface with existing programs such as the School Building Authority and expressed interest in the pilot data presented by community groups. Chair Decker said the committee plans more in‑depth review to reconcile standards, enforcement and infrastructure needs.

Why it matters: Proponents said the bill would move the state beyond piecemeal, local responses to indoor pollution and provide a coordinated approach that prioritizes the communities most affected.

The committee did not take a formal vote on the bill at the hearing. Advocates urged a favorable report so the task force can begin drafting standards and funding recommendations.