2003 SESSION

03-1135

04/10

SENATE BILL 167

COMMITTEE: Environment

ANALYSIS

This bill requires the departments of health and human services, labor, and education to monitor the indoor air quality and other environmental health conditions in public school buildings.

This bill is a request of the study committee established in 2002, 173 (HB 329).

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

03-1135

04/10

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Three

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

1 Purpose and Findings.

I. The general court finds that poor air quality in schools has been linked by medical and scientific authorities to the exacerbation of respiratory diseases such as asthma and other allergic disorders, and that such diseases place unnecessary and preventable burdens on school children and staff while depriving the affected person of well-being, academic achievement, and quality of life.

II. Further, the general court finds that:

(a) Indoor air quality complaints and requests for assistance from school administrators, staff, and parents have increased dramatically over the past decade.

(b) A primary cause of poor indoor air quality is a lack of investment in maintenance in school buildings leading to a build-up of pollutants, dust, mold, and other sources of biological growth.

(c) A secondary cause of poor indoor air quality is a lack of adequate ventilation systems which supply fresh air and exhaust stale air from all parts of the building.

(d) The prevalence of allergies, asthma, and sinusitis especially among children have doubled during the past 2 decades creating a larger number of individuals who can be affected by poor building conditions.

(e) Children are required to attend public schools and have the right to study in a healthy environment.

(f) Prevention of indoor air quality problems is simple and affordable when addressed in a proactive manner with adequate resources and trained personnel, while delays in maintenance often lead to expensive repairs passed on to future generations.

2 Health and Sanitation; Investigation of Sanitary Conditions. Amend RSA 200:11-12 to read as follows:

200:11 Investigation of Sanitary Conditions. The department of health and human services shall, upon complaint of any responsible person, investigate the sanitary and environmental conditions of any schoolhouse or building used for school purposes.

200:12 Requiring Changes; Condemnation. If the department of health and human services shall find that such schoolhouse or building is in any respect a menace, or likely to become a menace, to the health or bodily welfare of the pupils or teachers, the department shall call the attention of the local board of health and the local school board to the facts; and, if after a reasonable length of time, not to exceed 6 months, the complaint has not been attended to in a satisfactory way, the department shall either order such changes as will in their judgment make the building safe [and], sanitary, and healthy for school purposes or condemn the [same] building or individual areas within the building and forbid its further use.

3 New Section; Health and Sanitation; Public School Building Indoor Air Status. Amend RSA 200 by inserting after section 12 the following new section:

200:12-a Public School Building Indoor Air Status.

I. The commissioner of the department of health and human services shall monitor and report on the health status of public school buildings giving priority to monitoring the indoor air quality of public school buildings based on a school's need for improvements to sanitation, environmental conditions, and safety.

II. The commissioner of the department of labor shall annually submit a report to the commissioner of the department of health and human services detailing all school-based workers' compensation claims in a manner that identifies building-related health concerns such as asthma and other environmentally-related health conditions.

III. The superintendent of each school district shall annually submit a report to the commissioner of the department of education detailing each school district's efforts to improve indoor air quality and ensure a healthy learning environment.

4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.