A01039 Summary:

BILL NOA01039A
 
SAME ASNo same as
 
SPONSORJaffee (MS)
 
COSPNSRAbinanti, Lifton, Roberts, Lavine, Santabarbara, Schimel, Mosley, Steck, Cook, Skoufis
 
MLTSPNSRClark, Galef, Jacobs, O'Donnell, Ramos, Rivera, Robinson, Thiele, Weisenberg
 
Amd S206, Pub Health L; amd SS444-g & 466, RP L; amd S97-b, St Fin L
 
Creates the well water and water supply education act; requires the department of health to establish and maintain a public education program on the potential hazards of private water supplies; requires home inspectors, licensed real estate agents and brokers to provide private water supply education materials to prospective buyers of property where such property is serviced by a private water supply.
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A01039 Actions:

BILL NOA01039A
 
01/09/2013referred to health
01/08/2014referred to health
05/06/2014reported referred to codes
06/10/2014amend and recommit to codes
06/10/2014print number 1039a
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A01039 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A1039A
 
SPONSOR: Jaffee (MS)
  TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the public health law, the real prop- erty law and the state finance law, in relation to enacting the well water and water supply education act   PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: To inform the public of the Potential health affects of consuming water that does not meet the state drinking water standards.   SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS: Section 1 creates the Well Water Education Act. Section 2 amends Section 206 of the Public Health Law to authorize and direct the Commissioner of the Department of Health to establish and maintain a public education program regarding the potential health effects of consuming water that does not meet the state drinking water standards. Section 3 amends Section 444-g of the Real Property Law to require home inspectors to provide each client whose potential residence is served by a private well with educational materials prepared by the Department of Health. Section 4 amends Section 466 of the Real Property Law to require real estate agents to provide a potential purchaser of real property that is served by a private well with educational materials prepared by the Department of Health upon the execution of a contract for the sale of real property. Section 5 amends Section 97-b of the State Finance Law to access moneys in the Hazardous Waste Remediation Oversight and Assistance Account. Section 6 sets the effective date 180 days after it shall have become law.   JUSTIFICATION: Homeowners with private wells should be informed and made aware of potential health effects from consuming water that does not meet state drinking water standards. This legislation seeks to provide the public with educational materials containing information on potential contaminants, migration of contamination in groundwater and to advise homeowners that well water should be tested regularly by a certi- fied lab. This new bill rectifies the Governor's concerns expressed in his veto message in 2008 regarding the expense of developing and distributing materials to home buyers by utilizing the Hazardous Waste Remediation Oversight and Assistance Account.   PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 2005-2010: S.4038 - Referred to Health 2008: S.8541 - Passed Senate; Veto No. 86 05/19/11 referred to health 06/02/11 reported referred to codes 01/04/12 referred to health 01/27/12 amend and recommit to health 01/27/12 print number 7866b 02/14/12 reported referred to codes 05/22/12 reported referred to ways and means   FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: Nominal expenses for developing and distributing materials will be Paid through the Hazardous Waste Remediation Oversight and Assistance Account.   EFFECTIVE DATE: 180 days after it shall have become a law.
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A01039 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         1039--A
 
                               2013-2014 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                       (Prefiled)
 
                                     January 9, 2013
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced by M. of A. JAFFEE, ABINANTI, LIFTON, ROBERTS, LAVINE, SANTA-
          BARBARA,  SCHIMEL,  MOSLEY, STECK, COOK, SKOUFIS -- Multi-Sponsored by
          -- M. of A.  CLARK, GALEF, JACOBS, O'DONNELL, RAMOS, RIVERA, ROBINSON,
          THIELE, WEISENBERG -- read once  and  referred  to  the  Committee  on

          Health  --  recommitted  to the Committee on Health in accordance with
          Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- reported and referred to the  Committee  on
          Codes  --  committee  discharged,  bill  amended, ordered reprinted as
          amended and recommitted to said committee
 
        AN ACT to amend the public health law, the real  property  law  and  the
          state  finance  law,  in relation to enacting the well water and water
          supply education act
 
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section  1.  Short title.  This act shall be known and may be cited as
     2  the "well water and water supply education act".
     3    § 2. Section 206 of the public health law is amended by adding  a  new
     4  subdivision 29 to read as follows:
     5    29. The commissioner is authorized and directed to establish and main-

     6  tain  a  public  education  program to inform the public and appropriate
     7  professional disciplines of the potential health  effects  of  consuming
     8  water that does not meet state drinking water standards. As part of this
     9  education  program,  the  department  shall prepare materials to educate
    10  consumers who obtain drinking water from private water supplies  on  the
    11  importance of regularly testing for contamination.
    12    (a) Such educational materials shall include, but not be limited to:
    13    (i)  information  on potential contaminants including: coliform bacte-
    14  ria, chlorides, sodium, arsenic, nitrates, iron,  manganese,  lead,  pH,
    15  volatile  organic  compounds  for  which maximum contaminant levels have

    16  been established pursuant to public health regulations, vinyl  chloride,
    17  MtBE, and radon;
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02709-03-4

        A. 1039--A                          2
 
     1    (ii)  an  explanation that contamination of groundwater can occur from
     2  migration of  contaminants  that  may  not  yet  have  been  identified.
     3  Further, it should be emphasized that contaminated water does not neces-
     4  sarily  result  in  obvious odors or color changes in drinking water and
     5  that the only way to ensure that water meets state drinking water stand-

     6  ards is to have it tested by a state certified laboratory;
     7    (iii)  information on the maximum contaminant levels, or public health
     8  standards, for those contaminants identified in subparagraph (i) of this
     9  paragraph and the potential health impacts of exposure to  such  contam-
    10  inants above such levels;
    11    (iv) a recommendation that any water test conducted should be analyzed
    12  by  a  laboratory certified by the department to test for drinking water
    13  contaminants;
    14    (v) information on the importance of testing  private  water  supplies
    15  regularly  for  contaminants, and a request that residents provide their
    16  local health department with any results  of  tests  that  exceed  state
    17  standards; and

    18    (vi) information on water treatment techniques and equipment.
    19    (b) (i) The department shall make such educational materials available
    20  to the public on their website and upon request to the general public.
    21    (ii)  The  department,  in  consultation with the department of state,
    22  shall require that:
    23    (A) licensed home inspectors,  as  defined  in  section  four  hundred
    24  forty-four-b of the real property law, are provided with such materials,
    25  which  shall  be  provided by the licensed home inspector to each client
    26  whose property or potential property is served by a private water supply
    27  that is the potable water supply for such property; and
    28    (B) licensed real estate salesman, real estate  brokers  or  associate

    29  real  estate  brokers,  as  defined in section four hundred forty of the
    30  real property law, provide such information to their clients whose prop-
    31  erty or potential property is served by a private water supply  that  is
    32  the  potable  water  supply  for such property, at the time such clients
    33  enter into a contract for the sale of such property.
    34    § 3. Section 444-g of the real property law is amended by adding a new
    35  subdivision 3-a to read as follows:
    36    3-a. Every home inspector shall provide to each client, who may be  an
    37  owner, prospective buyer or other interested individual, whose residence
    38  or  potential  residence is served by a private water supply that is the
    39  potable water supply for such property, educational  materials  prepared

    40  by  the  department  of  health  pursuant  to subdivision twenty-nine of
    41  section two hundred six of the public health law relating to the regular
    42  testing of the quality of drinking water from wells  and  private  water
    43  supplies.
    44    §  4. Section 466 of the real property law, as added by chapter 456 of
    45  the laws of 2001, is amended to read as follows:
    46    § 466. Duty of an agent. 1. An agent representing a seller of residen-
    47  tial real property as a listing broker shall have  the  duty  to  timely
    48  inform each seller represented by that agent of the seller's obligations
    49  under  this  article.  An agent representing a buyer of residential real
    50  property, or, if the buyer is not represented by  an  agent,  the  agent
    51  representing  a  seller  of residential real property and dealing with a

    52  prospective buyer, shall have the duty to timely (in any  event,  before
    53  the  buyer  signs  a  binding contract of sale) inform such buyer of the
    54  buyer's rights and obligations under this article. If an agent  performs
    55  the  duties  and  obligations  imposed  upon him or her pursuant to this
    56  [section] subdivision, the agent shall have no further duties under this

        A. 1039--A                          3
 
     1  article and shall not be liable to any party for  a  violation  of  this
     2  article.; and
     3    2. In addition to its duties under subdivision one of this section, an
     4  agent  representing  a buyer or seller of residential real property as a
     5  listing broker shall have the duty to provide a purchaser of real  prop-

     6  erty that is served by a private water supply which is the potable water
     7  supply  for  such  property with public education information created by
     8  the department of health under subdivision twenty-nine  of  section  two
     9  hundred  six  of the public health law related to regular testing of the
    10  quality of drinking water from such water supplies,  at  the  time  such
    11  purchaser enters into a contract for the sale of such property.
    12    §  5.  Paragraph  (j)  of  subdivision  3 of section 97-b of the state
    13  finance law, as added by section 4 of part I of chapter 1 of the laws of
    14  2003, is amended and a new paragraph (k) is added to read as follows:
    15    (j) with respect to moneys in the hazardous  waste  remediation  over-
    16  sight  and  assistance  account, technical assistance grants pursuant to

    17  titles thirteen and fourteen of article  twenty-seven  of  the  environ-
    18  mental conservation law[.]; and
    19    (k)  implementation  of  the well water and water supply education act
    20  pursuant to subdivision twenty-nine of section two hundred  six  of  the
    21  public health law.
    22    § 6. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
    23  it shall have become a law.
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