Public Act 100-0461
 
SB1774 EnrolledLRB100 05367 MJP 15378 b

    AN ACT concerning health.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Comprehensive Lead Education, Reduction,
and Window Replacement Program Act is amended by changing
Sections 5, 10, 20, 25, and 30 and by adding Section 16 as
follows:
 
    (410 ILCS 43/5)
    Sec. 5. Findings; intent; establishment of program.
    (a) The General Assembly finds all of the following:
        (1) Lead-based paint poisoning is a potentially
    devastating, but preventable disease. It is one of the top
    environmental threats to children's health in the United
    States.
        (2) The number of lead-poisoned children in Illinois is
    among the highest in the nation, especially in older, more
    affordable properties.
        (3) Lead poisoning causes irreversible damage to the
    development of a child's nervous system. Even at low and
    moderate levels, lead poisoning causes learning
    disabilities, problems with speech, shortened attention
    span, hyperactivity, and behavioral problems. Recent
    research links low levels of lead exposure to lower IQ
    scores and to juvenile delinquency.
        (4) Older housing is the number one risk factor for
    childhood lead poisoning. Properties built before 1950 are
    statistically much more likely to contain lead-based paint
    hazards than buildings constructed more recently.
        (5) While the use of lead-based paint in residential
    properties was banned in 1978, the State of Illinois ranks
    seventh nationally in the number of housing units built
    before 1978 and has the highest risk for lead hazards.
        (5) The State of Illinois ranks 10th out of the 50
    states in the age of its housing stock. More than 50% of
    the housing units in Chicago and in Rock Island, Peoria,
    Macon, Madison, and Kankakee counties were built before
    1960. More than 43% of the housing units in St. Clair,
    Winnebago, Sangamon, Kane, and Cook counties were built
    before 1950.
        (6) There are nearly 1.4 million households with
    lead-based paint hazards in Illinois.
        (7) Most children are lead poisoned in their own homes
    through exposure to lead dust from deteriorated lead paint
    surfaces, like windows, and when lead paint deteriorates or
    is disturbed through home renovation and repainting.
        (8) Children at the highest risk for lead poisoning
    live in low-income communities and in older housing
    throughout the State of Illinois.
        (8) Less than 25% of children in Illinois age 6 and
    under have been tested for lead poisoning . While children
    are lead poisoned throughout Illinois, counties above the
    statewide average include: Alexander, Cass, Cook, Fulton,
    Greene, Kane, Kankakee, Knox, LaSalle, Macon, Mercer,
    Peoria, Perry, Rock Island, Sangamon, St. Clair,
    Stephenson, Vermilion, Will, and Winnebago.
        (9) The control of lead hazards significantly reduces
    lead-poisoning rates. Other communities, including New
    York City and Milwaukee, have successfully reduced
    lead-poisoning rates by removing lead-based paint hazards
    on windows.
        (10) Windows are considered a higher lead exposure risk
    more often than other components in a housing unit. Windows
    are a major contributor of lead dust in the home, due to
    both weathering conditions and friction effects on paint.
        (11) The Comprehensive Lead Elimination, Reduction,
    and Window Replacement (CLEAR-WIN) Program was established
    under Public Act 95-492 as a pilot program to reduce
    potential lead hazards by replacing windows in low-income,
    pre-1978 homes. It also provided for on-the-job training
    for community members in 2 pilot communities in Chicago and
    Peoria County.
        (12) The CLEAR-WIN Program provided for installation
    of 8,000 windows in 466 housing units between 2010 and
    2014. Evaluations of the pilot program determined window
    replacement was effective in lowering lead hazards and
    produced energy, environmental, health, and market
    benefits. Return on investment was almost $2 for every
    dollar spent.
        (13) (11) There is an insufficient pool of licensed
    lead abatement workers and contractors to address the
    problem in some areas of the State.
        (14) (12) Through grants from the U.S. Department of
    Housing and Urban Development and State dollars, some
    communities in Illinois have begun to reduce lead poisoning
    of children. While this is an ongoing effort, it only
    addresses a small number of the low-income children
    statewide in communities with high levels of lead paint in
    the housing stock.
    (b) It is the intent of the General Assembly to:
        (1) address the problem of lead poisoning of children
    by eliminating lead hazards in homes;
        (2) provide training within communities to encourage
    the use of lead paint safe work practices;
        (3) create job opportunities for community members in
    the lead abatement industry;
        (4) support the efforts of small business and property
    owners committed to maintaining lead-safe housing; and
        (5) assist in the maintenance of affordable lead-safe
    housing stock.
    (c) The General Assembly hereby establishes the
Comprehensive Lead Education, Reduction, and Window
Replacement Program to assist residential property owners
through a Lead Direct Assistance Program loan and grant
programs to reduce lead paint hazards in residential properties
through window replacement in pilot area communities. Where
there is a lack of workers trained to remove lead-based paint
hazards, job-training programs must be initiated. The General
Assembly also recognizes that training, insurance, and
licensing costs are prohibitively high and hereby establishes
incentives for contractors to do lead abatement work.
    (d) The Department of Public Health is authorized to:
        (1) adopt rules necessary to implement this Act;
        (2) adopt by reference the Illinois Administrative
    Procedure Act for administration of this Act;
        (3) assess administrative fines and penalties, as
    established by the Department by rule, for persons
    violating rules adopted by the Department under this Act;
        (4) make referrals for prosecution to the Attorney
    General or the State's Attorney for the county in which a
    violation occurs, for a violation of this Act or the rules
    adopted under this Act; and
        (5) establish agreements under the Intergovernmental
    Cooperation Act with the Department of Commerce and
    Economic Opportunity, the Illinois Housing Development
    Authority, or any other public agency as required, to
    implement this Act.
(Source: P.A. 95-492, eff. 1-1-08.)
 
    (410 ILCS 43/10)
    Sec. 10. Definitions. In this Act:
    "Advisory Council" refers to the Lead Safe Housing Advisory
Council established under Public Act 93-0789.
    "Child care facility" means any structure used by a child
care provider licensed by the Department of Children and Family
Services or a public or private school structure frequented by
children 6 years of age or younger.
    "Child-occupied property" means a property where a child
under 6 years of age is on the property an average of at least 6
hours per week.
    "CLEAR-WIN Program" refers to the Comprehensive Lead
Education, Reduction, and Window Replacement Program created
pursuant to this Act to assist property owners of single-family
single family homes and multi-unit residential properties in
the State pilot area communities, through the Direct Assistance
Program, which reduces loan and grant programs that reduce lead
paint and leaded plumbing hazards primarily through window
replacement and, where necessary, through other lead
lead-based paint hazard control techniques.
    "Department" means the Department of Public Health.
    "Director" means the Director of Public Health.
    "Lead hazard" means a lead-bearing substance that poses an
immediate health hazard to humans.
    "Lead Safe Housing Maintenance Standards" refers to the
standards developed by the Lead Safe Housing Department in
conjunction with the Advisory Council.
    "Leaded plumbing" means that portion of a building's
potable water plumbing that is suspected or known to contain
lead or lead-containing material as indicated by lead in
potable water samples.
    "Low-income" means a household at or below 80% of the
median income level for a given county as determined annually
by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
    "Person" means an individual, corporation, partnership,
firm, organization, or association, acting individually or as a
group.
    "Plumbing" has the meaning ascribed to that term in the
Illinois Plumbing Licensing Law.
    "Recipient" means a person receiving direct assistance
under this Act.
    "Residential property" means a single-family residence or
renter-occupied property with up to 8 units.
    "Pilot area communities" means the counties or cities
selected by the Department, with the advice of the Advisory
Council, where properties whose owners are eligible for the
assistance provided by this Act are located.
    "Window" means the inside, outside, and sides of sashes and
mullions and the frames to the outside edge of the frame,
including sides, sash guides, and window wells and sills.
(Source: P.A. 95-492, eff. 1-1-08.)
 
    (410 ILCS 43/16 new)
    Sec. 16. Lead Direct Assistance Program.
    (a) Subject to appropriation, the Department, in
consultation with the Advisory Council, shall establish and
operate the Lead Direct Assistance Program throughout the
State. The purpose of the Lead Direct Assistance Program is to
employ primary prevention strategies to prevent childhood lead
poisoning.
    (b) The Department shall administer the Lead Direct
Assistance Program to remediate lead-based paint hazards and
leaded plumbing hazards in residential properties. Conditions
for receiving direct assistance shall be developed by the
Department of Public Health, in consultation with the
Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and the
Illinois Housing Development Authority. Criteria for receiving
direct assistance shall include:
        (1) for owner-occupied properties: (i) the property
    contains lead hazards; (ii) the property is a
    child-occupied property or the residence of a pregnant
    woman; and (iii) the owner is low-income; and
        (2) for rental properties: (i) the property contains
    lead hazards and (ii) 50% or more of the renters in the
    residential property are low-income.
    Recipients of direct assistance under this program shall be
provided a copy of the Department's Lead Safe Housing
Maintenance Standards. Before receiving the direct assistance,
the recipient must certify that he or she has received the
standards and intends to comply with them. If the property is a
rental property, the recipient must also certify that he or she
will continue to rent to the same tenant or other low-income
tenant for a period of not less than 5 years following
completion of the work. Failure to comply with the conditions
of the Lead Direct Assistance Program is a violation of this
Act.
    (c) To identify properties with lead hazards, the
Department may prioritize properties where at least one child
has been found to have an elevated blood lead level under the
Lead Poisoning Prevention Act and the paint or potable water
has been tested and found to contain lead exceeding levels
established by rule.
    (d) All lead-based paint hazard control work performed
under the Lead Direct Assistance Program shall comply with the
Lead Poisoning Prevention Act and the Illinois Lead Poisoning
Prevention Code. All plumbing work performed under the Lead
Direct Assistance Program shall comply with the Illinois
Plumbing Licensing Act and the Illinois Plumbing Code. Before
persons are paid for work conducted under this Act, each
subject property must be inspected by a lead risk assessor or
lead inspector licensed in Illinois. Prior to payment, an
appropriate number of dust samples must be collected from in
and around the work areas for lead analysis, with results in
compliance with levels set by the Lead Poisoning Prevention Act
and the Illinois Lead Poisoning Prevention Code or in the case
of leaded plumbing work, be inspected by an Illinois-certified
plumbing inspector. All costs associated with these
inspections, including laboratory fees, shall be compensable
to the person contracted to provide direct assistance, as
prescribed by rule. Additional repairs and clean-up costs
associated with a failed clearance test, including follow-up
tests, shall be the responsibility of the person performing the
work under the Lead Direct Assistance Program.
    (e) The Department shall issue Lead Safe Housing
Maintenance Standards in accordance with this Act. Except for
properties where all lead-based paint, leaded plumbing, or
other identified lead hazards have been removed, the standards
shall describe the responsibilities of property owners and
tenants in maintaining lead-safe housing, including, but not
limited to, prescribing special cleaning, repair, flushing,
filtering, and maintenance necessary to minimize the risk that
subject properties will cause lead poisoning in children.
Recipients of direct assistance shall be required to continue
to maintain their properties in compliance with these Lead Safe
Housing Maintenance Standards. Failure to maintain properties
in accordance with these standards is a violation and may
subject the recipient to fines and penalties prescribed by
rule.
    (f) From funds appropriated, the Department may pay its own
reasonable administrative costs and, by agreement, the
reasonable administrative costs of other public agencies.
    (g) Failure by a person performing work under the Lead
Direct Assistance Program to comply with rules or any
contractual agreement made thereunder may subject the person to
administrative action by the Department or other public
agencies, in accordance with rules adopted under this Act,
including, but not limited to, civil penalties, retainage of
payment, and loss of eligibility to participate. Civil actions,
including for reimbursement, damages, and money penalties, and
criminal actions may be brought by the Attorney General or the
State's Attorney for the county in which the violation occurs.
 
    (410 ILCS 43/20)
    Sec. 20. Lead abatement training. The Advisory Council
shall advise the Department determine whether a sufficient
number of lead abatement training programs exist to serve the
State. If the Department determines pilot sites. If it is
determined additional programs are needed, then the Department
may use funds appropriated under this Act to address the
deficiencies the Advisory Council shall work with the
Department to establish the additional training programs for
purposes of the CLEAR-WIN Program.
(Source: P.A. 95-492, eff. 1-1-08.)
 
    (410 ILCS 43/25)
    Sec. 25. Insurance assistance. The Department, through
agreements with other public agencies, may allow for
reimbursement of certain insurance costs associated with
persons performing work under the Lead Direct Assistance
Program. shall make available, for the portion of a policy
related to lead activities, 100% insurance subsidies to
licensed lead abatement contractors who primarily target their
work to the pilot area communities and employ a significant
number of licensed lead abatement workers from the pilot area
communities. Receipt of the subsidies shall be reviewed
annually by the Department. The Department shall adopt rules
for implementation of these insurance subsidies within 6 months
after the effective date of this Act.
(Source: P.A. 95-492, eff. 1-1-08.)
 
    (410 ILCS 43/30)
    Sec. 30. Advisory Council. The Advisory Council shall
assist the Department in developing submit an annual written
report to the Governor and General Assembly on the operation
and effectiveness of the CLEAR-WIN Program. The report must
evaluate the program's effectiveness on reducing the
prevalence of lead poisoning in children in the pilot area
communities and in training and employing persons in the pilot
area communities. The report also must: (i) contain information
about training and employment associated with persons
providing direct assistance work, (ii) describe the numbers of
units in which lead hazards were remediated or leaded plumbing
replaced, (iii) lead -based paint was abated; specify the type
of work completed and the types of dwellings and demographics
of persons assisted, (iv) ; summarize the cost of lead
lead-based paint hazard control and CLEAR-WIN Program
administration, (v) report on ; rent increases or decreases in
the residential property affected by direct assistance work and
pilot area communities; rental property ownership changes,
(vi) describe ; and any other CLEAR-WIN actions taken by the
Department, other public agencies, or the Advisory Council, and
(vii) recommend any necessary legislation or rule-making to
improve the effectiveness of this the CLEAR-WIN Program.
(Source: P.A. 95-492, eff. 1-1-08.)
 
    (410 ILCS 43/15 rep.)
    Section 10. The Comprehensive Lead Education, Reduction,
and Window Replacement Program Act is amended by repealing
Section 15.
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.