BILL NUMBER: SB 1395 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 24, 2008
INTRODUCED BY Senator Corbett
FEBRUARY 21, 2008
An act to add Section 116877 to the Health and Safety
Code, relating to lead plumbing. An act to add Article
10.1.2 (commencing with Section 25214.4.3) to Chapter 6.5 of
Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to lead plumbing.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1395, as amended, Corbett. Lead plumbing: monitoring and
compliance program. testing.
Existing law provides for various restrictions and prohibitions
relating to the use of any pipe, pipe or plumbing fitting or fixture,
solder, or flux that is not lead free, as defined, in regard to
public water systems and plumbing used to provide water for human
consumption.
Existing consumption. Existing law
requires the State Department of Public Health to adopt building
standards to implement the above these
prohibitions. Appropriate state and local building and health
officials are required to enforce these standards.
This bill would require the department to establish, no later than
January 1, 2010, a program to monitor for compliance with the
above-described provisions, and would require the program to include,
but not be limited to, the random testing of plumbing materials that
are subject to these provisions.
Under existing law, the Department of Toxic Substances Control
(department) enforces hazardous waste control laws that regulate the
disposal of discarded appliances, lead acid batteries, small
household batteries, recyclable latex paint, and household hazardous
waste. The department is also authorized to implement and enforce
provisions establishing prohibitions relating to jewelry for retail
sale that contains specified amounts of lead.
This bill would establish lead plumbing monitoring and compliance
testing as a part of the department's ongoing program to reduce toxic
substances from the environment. The bill would require the
department to annually select, at random, drinking water faucets or
other drinking water plumbing fittings and fixtures for testing and
evaluation to determine compliance with specified lead plumbing
standards established pursuant to a separate provision of existing
law.
The bill would require the department to, based on its available
resources and staffing, determine the number and the locations from
which to select samples of faucets, fittings, and fixtures to test
and evaluate. The bill would require the department to annually post
the results of its testing and evaluation on its Web site, and to
transmit the results in an annual report to the State Department of
Public Health.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all
of the following:
(a) Californians expect that the public health standards
applicable to drinking water plumbing adopted by state government to
protect against lead leaching into drinking water are being complied
with.
(b) There is not currently an existing quality control program in
state or federal law to ensure that drinking water plumbing,
including faucets, conforms to existing state and federal standards.
(c) Without monitoring and compliance testing, consumers have no
way of knowing whether the drinking water plumbing and faucets they
purchase meet California's safe lead content standard.
(d) Recent medical research studies conclusively show that lead in
the bloodstream is dangerous at any level.
(e) The United States Environmental Protection Agency has
concluded that drinking water plumbing remains a significant source
of lead exposure and has specifically identified, as the most common
problem, brass or chrome-plated brass faucets and fixtures, which can
leak considerable amounts of lead into the water, particularly hot
water.
(f) Chapter 853 of the Statutes of 2006 will, commencing January
1, 2010, phase out the use of lead in faucets, pipes and pipe
fittings, and plumbing fittings that are used to convey water for
human consumption.
(g) The random collection and testing of faucets would help ensure
compliance with California's lead content standard for plumbing and
increase consumer confidence that the faucets purchased for their
homes are not a source of dangerous lead levels in their blood.
SEC. 2. Article 10.1.2 (commencing with Section
25214.4.3) is added to Chapter 6.5 of Division 20 of the
Health and Safety Code , to read:
Article 10.1.2. Lead Plumbing Monitoring and Compliance
Testing
25214.4.3. (a) Lead plumbing monitoring and compliance testing
shall be undertaken by the department, as a part of the department's
ongoing program for reducing toxic substances from the environment.
(b) For purposes of implementing this article, the department
shall annually select, at random, drinking water faucets or other
drinking water plumbing fittings and fixtures for testing and
evaluation to determine compliance with Section 116875.
(c) The department shall, based on its available resources and
staffing, determine the appropriate number of drinking water faucets
or other drinking water plumbing fittings and fixtures to annually
test and evaluate, as well as the locations from which to randomly
select the faucets, fittings, and fixtures.
(d) The department shall annually post the results of the testing
and evaluation conducted pursuant to this article on its Internet Web
site and shall transmit these results in an annual report to the
State Department of Public Health.
SECTION 1. Section 116877 is added to the
Health and Safety Code, to read:
116877. (a) No later than January 1, 2010, the State Department
of Public Health shall establish a plumbing material monitoring
program to survey compliance with the requirements set forth in
Section 116875. The program shall include, but need not be limited
to, the random testing of materials subject to the restrictions set
forth in Section 116875.
(b) The department may adopt regulations as necessary to implement
this section.