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Current
law
Most
of the regulations for lead paint and lead-poisoned children in Rhode
Island stem from a law passed by the General Assembly in 1991. The Lead
Poisoning Prevention Act was sponsored by state Rep. K. Nicholas Tsiongas,
D-Providence, who was the legislature's only physician.
Originally the bill called for spending state money on lead-poison prevention
efforts, such as inspecting all older homes if young children were present.
But coming in the midst of the banking crisis and state revenue shortages,
the bill was heavily amended.
The 1991 legislation required the state to:
• Screen most children under the age of 6 for lead in their blood.
• Set standards for removing lead hazards and give the Health Department
the authority to inspect housing units where children were found to be
lead poisoned.
• Order landlords to make reasonable efforts to protect tenants when lead-abatement
work is done.
• Protect the health and safety of lead inspectors and contractors.
• Specify rules requiring landlords to make housing units lead safe.
The legislation also established an "innocent owner" provision that limits
the liabilities of owners of buildings that poison children to the cost
of correcting the lead hazard. This prevents victims from suing landlords
to recover damages for their injuries.
Landlords lose the "innocent owner" protection if they fail to correct
a hazard within 90 days of receiving notice from the state, or if they
have received notices for three or more properties.
PROPOSED LAW
For the last three years, state Sen. Thomas J. Izzo, D-Cranston, has
filed bills to overhaul the state's approach to lead-poisoning prevention.
Each year the bills have been opposed by lawyers, landlords, and some
lead-poison prevention advocates.
His bills would repeal the "innocent owner" provision and provide legal
protection only for landlords who make their buildings lead safe. Those
who don't could be liable for limited costs of medical expenses and educational
help for victims. The bills also authorized low-cost alternatives to make
homes lead safe and ordered a statewide educational program on lead poisoning.
This year, Childhood Lead Action Project initiated a sweeping lead-reform
bill of its own, which was sponsored by legislators from Providence.
It would:
• Require insurance companies selling property liability insurance to
landlords in Rhode Island to provide liability coverage for injuries and
damages caused by lead poisoning.
• Forfeit landlords' rights to collect rents on apartments that have been
cited for lead-hazard violations. Violators could be fined as much as
$1,500 or three times the monthly rents.
• Provide tax credits to landlords who reduce lead hazards and increase
fines for those whose properties are cited for lead-hazard violations.
• Eliminate the "innocent owner" provision for landlords.
• Authorize the Health Department to post large signs that read "Notice
of Lead Hazards" on buildings whose owners have been notified twice of
lead violations. The Health Department would publish four times annually
a list of properties (and their owners) that have received second-violation
notices.
• Require the attorney general to create an Office of Lead Advocate, which
would be assigned to investigate failures to comply with lead-abatement
orders and to initiate criminal or civil complaints against landlords.
Properties where hazards aren't corrected would be considered abandoned.
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