BILL NUMBER: AB 629 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 13, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Krekorian
FEBRUARY 25, 2009
An act to add Section 17577.5 to the Education Code, and to add
Section 75020.5 to the Public Resources Code, relating to school
facilities.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 629, as amended, Krekorian. School facilities: water.
(1) Existing law establishes the School Facilities Needs
Assessment Grant Program under which grants are awarded to school
districts on behalf of schoolsites ranked in deciles 1 to 3,
inclusive, on the Academic Performance Index, as specified. A school
district that receives a grant is required to use the funds to
develop a comprehensive needs assessment of all schoolsites eligible
for grants. Among the information the assessment is required to
contain is the useful life remaining on all major building systems,
including the water system, for each structure housing instructional
space.
This bill would require a school district by January 1, 2012,
to conduct a one-time assessment
analysis of the level of lead in water in schools with plumbing
that has not been updated since 1993. The State Department of Public
Health would be required to establish testing protocols. Water
samples would be required to be analyzed by a laboratory that is
certified by the State Department of Public Health or the United
States Environmental Protection Agency. A school district would be
required to report the results of the assessment
analysis to the State Department of Education, which would
be required to make the information available to the public.
The bill would authorize a school district, if the
assessment analysis reveals the presence ,
at specified levels, of lead in water that is available ,
as specified, for human consumption on a schoolsite, to compete
for funding from the Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply,
Flood Control, River and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2006.
By requiring school districts to conduct the assessment
analysis and report the results to the
department, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 17577.5 is added to the Education Code, to
read:
17577.5. (a) A By January 1, 2010, a
school district shall conduct a one-time assessment
analysis of the level of lead in water in
schools with plumbing that has not been updated since 1993. Only
sources where water is available for possible human
consumption shall be assessed. The assessment water
dispensed from drinking water fountains and other fixtures that are
intended to convey water for human consumption shall be analyzed. The
analysis shall include, but not be limited to, a determination
of the presence and amount of lead in the water.
(b) The State Department of Public Health shall establish testing
protocols. Water samples shall be analyzed by a laboratory that is
certified by the State Department of Public Health or the United
States Environmental Protection Agency. The school district may
contract with a private certified laboratory or the county health
department laboratory, whichever is more cost-effective.
(c) A school district that has conducted an assessment
analysis pursuant to this section shall report
the results of the assessment analysis
to the department, which shall make the information available to the
public.
(d) If the assessment analysis
reveals the presence of lead in water that is available from a
drinking water fountain or other fixture intended to convey water
for human consumption on a schoolsite at a concentration
that exceeds the lead action level in the federal lead and copper
rule of 15ug/L , the school district maintaining the schoolsite
is eligible to compete for funds made available from the Safe
Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control, River and
Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2006, as set forth in Division 43
(commencing with Section 75001) of the Public Resources Code in order
to mitigate the contamination.
SEC. 2. Section 75020.5 is added to the Public Resources Code, to
read:
75020.5. If a school district completes an assessment
analysis of water toxicity levels in its schools
pursuant to Section 17577.5 of the Education Code and the assessment
analysis reveals the presence of lead in water that is
available for human consumption on a schoolsite, the school district
maintaining the schoolsite is eligible to compete for funds made
available pursuant to this chapter.
SEC. 3. If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local
agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant
to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of
the Government Code.