BILL NUMBER: AB 629 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 22, 2009
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 analysis of the level of lead in water in schools
that were constructed before January 1, 1993, except schools
with plumbing that has not been
updated completely replaced since January
1, 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 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 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 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) By January 1, 2010 2012
, a school district shall conduct a one-time analysis of the
level of lead in water in schools that were constructed before
January 1, 1993, except schools with plumbing that has
not been updated since been completely replaced on or
after January 1, 1993. Only 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 analysis pursuant to
this section shall report the results of the analysis to the
department, which shall make the information available to the public.
(d) If the 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 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 at a concentration that exceeds the lead action level in
the federal lead and copper rule of 15ug/L 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.