"Sometimes, optimism coupled with persistence makes for a winning formula," a smiling Roberta Aaronson, director of the Childhood Lead Action Project, said at a ceremonial signing of the bill by Governor Almond.
It took four years for Sen. Thomas Izzo, D-Cranston, to get the bill passed, and he thanked a number of individuals and groups who helped, acknowledging there were differences along the way.
"In spite of all our individual interests, it was kids who brought us all together," Izzo told the law's supporters in the State Room of the State House. On the House side, the bill was sponsored by Rep. Joseph Almeida, D-Providence.
Izzo gave his signed copy of the bill to Aaronson, whose organization opposed an earlier version of his bill in 2001 because it was not tough enough on landlords. The Childhood Lead Action Project joined a coalition of groups -- including Rhode Island Kids Count, the HELP Lead Safe Center and the Rhode Island Trial Lawyers Association -- that supported the final version that became law.
The new law requires other tenants in a building where a child is poisoned to be notified of the poisoning, requires the state Health Department to issue rules to prevent landlords from retaliating against tenants who file lead-paint complaints and lifts the so-called "innocent owner" provision that has protected many landlords from lawsuits.
Other requirements include public notice of properties considered unsafe for children, an order to landlords to post signs on their properties declaring them unsafe for small children and a ban against insurance companies excluding lead coverage in liability policies written for most landlords.
Last year, 2,832 Rhode Island children had lead levels high enough to be considered poisoned. Three-hundred-sixteen of those children were found to have significant levels of lead poisoning and will suffer permanent effects, said Department of Health Director Patricia Nolan.
The Senate passed the bill in May, and the House approved it last month. Almond had formally signed the bill late last month.
