Senate committee hears bill to codify state lead renovation, repair and painting program

A Senate committee on Environment, Energy & Technology heard testimony on Senate Bill 5,494, which would place the state’s renovation, repair and painting (RRP) program for lead-based paint into state law and give the Department of Commerce authority to administer and enforce it.

The bill, introduced in staff briefing by Alicia Kinney Clausen, staff to the committee, would direct Commerce to administer a state RRP program consistent with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requirements and grant Commerce rulemaking authority and authority to set fees. Senator Claudia Kaufman, sponsor, told the committee that “lead exposure remains a preventable but presents persistent public health issue, especially for children and families that are in older homes.”

The bill would require renovation activities on pre-1978 residential or child-occupied facilities to be done by certified firms and certified renovators or individuals trained by certified renovators. Commerce would have to…