Legislative oversight panel flags gaps in Delaware lead-prevention law, asks agencies for data in 60 days

Senators and representatives on the Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee on the General Assembly’s House Majority Hearing Room reviewed a staff report on Delaware’s childhood lead poisoning prevention programs and pressed state agencies for more data and clearer statutory language.

Amanda Wade McAtee, an analyst for the committee, and Ben Kowa presented the committee’s focused review on screening access at 12 and 24 months, water testing in schools and program funding. “Two major statutory updates occurred in June of 2023,” McAtee told the committee, adding that Senate Bill 9 of 2023 created a new Delaware state lead-based paint program and established a Lead Based Paint Abatement and Remediation Fund.

The staff report identified several code references that committee analysts said are confusing or incomplete. Analysts told members the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act is scattered across multiple reporting requirements and that the term “universal reporting system” in statute is not defined; analysts recommended linking that phrase to the CDC-supported Healthy Homes and Lead Poisoning Surveillance System used by Delaware Department of Public Health (DPH).

Sandy Spiegel, chief of health systems protection at the Division of Public Health in the Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS), described staffing and program changes at DPH since SB 9 took effect.…