NY State Senate Bill 2009-S4442

Senate Bill S4442

2009-2010 Legislative Session

Requires school districts in a city with one million or more to investigate and report on the status of PCBs in school buildings

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Education Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 06, 2010	referred to education
Apr 23, 2009	referred to education

2009-S4442 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Education
Law Section:: Education Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §3641, Ed L
Versions Introduced in 2011-2012 Legislative Session:: S2088

2009-S4442 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires school districts in a city with one million or more to investigate and report on the status of PCB's in school buildings; report to be submitted to the commissioner by January 1, next succeeding the close of the school year in which the inspection was conducted with all buildings being inspected by January 1, 2011.

2009-S4442 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S4442

 TITLE OF BILL :
An act to amend the education law, in relation to requiring school
districts in a city of one million or more to investigate and report
on the status of polychlorinated biphenyls


 PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL :
To require school districts in a city of one million or more to test
and submit a report to the commissioner about the status of
polychlorinated biphenyls in buildings constructed or renovated prior
to 1977.

 SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS :
Section one amends subdivision 4 of section 3641 of the education law
by adding a new paragraph e to require school districts of one million
or more to test for the presence of polychlorinated biphenyls and to
submit a report to the commissioner on the status of PCBs in schools
constructed or renovated prior to 1977.

 JUSTIFICATION :
On April 7, 2008, the New York Daily News reported on the presence of
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in hundreds of New York City public
schools. Despite requests from parents, teachers, elected officials,
and other community members for a comprehensive testing and

remediation, the New York City Department of Education (DOE) and the
New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene have repeatedly
refused to address the situation beyond the initial tests conducted on
the schools following the Daily News story.

PCBs are prohibited by the U.S. Toxic Substances Control Act, but
persist in many school buildings that were constructed or renovated
prior to 1977, when the federal ban on PCBs went into effect. The New
York State Department of Education (NYSED) published protocols for
addressing PCBs during school renovations in June 2007, but school
districts are currently not required to follow these recommended
guidelines; this bill would make the state's protocols a requirement.
This bill would require the DOE to test for the presence of PCBs and
to report these findings to NYSED on an annual basis, with all
inspections completed by 2011. NYSED is required to publish the
findings on its website in a timely manner for public access.

 PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :
A11367 of 2008 - referred to education; amended and recommitted to
education; print number 11367A

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :
Undetermined.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect immediately.

2009-S4442 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  4442

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                             April 23, 2009
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen.  KRUGER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed to the Committee on Education

AN ACT to amend the education  law,  in  relation  to  requiring  school
  districts  in  a city of one million or more to investigate and report
  on the status of polychlorinated biphenyls

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1.  Subdivision  4  of  section  3641 of the education law is
amended by adding a new paragraph e to read as follows:
  E. SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN A CITY OF ONE MILLION OR MORE  SHALL  TEST  FOR
THE  PRESENCE  OF  POLYCHLORINATED BIPHENYLS (PCBS) IN AND AROUND SCHOOL
BUILDINGS AND SHALL SUBMIT TO THE COMMISSIONER A REPORT ON THE  RESULTS.
SUCH  REPORT  SHALL  BE  IN THE FORM PRESCRIBED BY THE COMMISSIONER. THE
SAMPLING METHODS SHALL MEET THE PROTOCOL FOR  SAMPLING  CAULK  AND  SOIL
CONTAINED  IN  THE  PROTOCOL  FOR  ADDRESSING  POLYCHLORINATED BIPHENYLS
ADOPTED BY THE DEPARTMENT IN JUNE TWO THOUSAND SEVEN. THE  REPORT  SHALL
REFLECT  THE  RESULTS OF INSPECTIONS OF ALL SCHOOL BUILDINGS CONSTRUCTED
OR RENOVATED IN A MANNER REQUIRING THE USE  OF  CAULK  BETWEEN  NINETEEN
HUNDRED  FIFTY AND NINETEEN HUNDRED EIGHTY AND SHALL INCLUDE THE TESTING
OF EXPANSION JOINT CAULKING AND DOOR AND WINDOW CAULKING AS WELL AS SOIL
IN AND AROUND SCHOOL BUILDINGS.  ANALYSIS OF SAMPLES SHALL BE  CONDUCTED
BY  A  LABORATORY  CERTIFIED  BY  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF HEALTH PURSUANT TO
SECTION FIVE HUNDRED TWO OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH LAW. THE STATE SHALL REIM-
BURSE EACH SCHOOL DISTRICT IN THE AMOUNT OF FIFTY  DOLLARS  PER  SAMPLE.
SUCH  REPORT SHALL BE SUBMITTED TO THE COMMISSIONER BY THE JANUARY FIRST
SUCCEEDING THE CLOSE OF THE SCHOOL YEAR IN WHICH THE LAST INSPECTION WAS
CONDUCTED, WITH ALL BUILDINGS BEING  INSPECTED  BY  JANUARY  FIRST,  TWO
THOUSAND  ELEVEN.   THE DEPARTMENT SHALL POST THE REPORT PROVIDED BY THE
SCHOOL DISTRICT IN A TIMELY MANNER ON ITS WEBSITE.   THE DISTRICT  SHALL
PROVIDE  TO THE DEPARTMENT AND THE DEPARTMENT SHALL PROMPTLY POST ON ITS
WEBSITE INSPECTION AND TEST RESULTS FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL SCHOOL  BUILDING

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD06631-02-9

S. 4442                             2

AS THE TESTS ARE COMPLETED ON A SCHOOL-BY-SCHOOL BASIS. SCHOOL-BY-SCHOOL
RESULTS SHALL BE SENT TO THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVA-
TION,   THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  HEALTH,  THE  UNITED  STATES  ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION  AGENCY,  EACH  SCHOOL'S  ADMINISTRATION  AND  THE PARENTS OF
STUDENTS ATTENDING  EACH  SCHOOL.    THE  ORDER  IN  WHICH  SCHOOLS  ARE
INSPECTED SHALL BE DETERMINED BY RANDOM DRAW.
  S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

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