Rpld 1370, 1373 & 1375, amd Pub Health L, generally; add 236-a & 242-a, RP L; amd 210-B & 606, Tax L; add
99-rr, St Fin L; amd 302-a, Mult Dwell L; amd 305-a, Mult Res L; add 131-y, amd 143-b & 390-a, Soc Serv L;
add 3441, Ins L
Enacts the childhood lead poisoning prevention and safe housing act to make enforcement of lead hazard control standards in the state of New York more certain and more effective; creates a loan fund to assist owners in complying with lead-safe requirements; provides for inspections and certification of inspectors and remediators; requires registration of affected properties; provides tax credits for remediation; provides for appointment of deputy commissioner of housing and community renewal to oversee provisions; provides for educational programs relating to lead poisoning and abatement.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7406
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
May 23, 2023
___________
Introduced by Sens. PARKER, HOYLMAN-SIGAL, SEPULVEDA, SERRANO -- read
twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the
Committee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law, the real property law, the tax
law, the state finance law, the multiple dwelling law, the multiple
residence law, the social services law and the insurance law, in
relation to enacting the "childhood lead poisoning prevention and safe
housing act"; and to repeal certain provisions of the public health
law relating thereto
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "childhood
2 lead poisoning prevention and safe housing act".
3 § 2. Legislative findings and purposes. 1. (a) Lead poisoning of
4 children persists as one of the most prevalent and preventable environ-
5 mental diseases in New York. At least 10,000 children were newly iden-
6 tified with levels of lead in their blood at 10 micrograms per deciliter
7 (ug/dl) in New York state in 2001. Moreover, only about one-third of
8 children are receiving the lead screenings that are required by law and
9 therefore, the actual number of children affected by the ingestion of
10 lead is undoubtedly significantly greater than reported. Prevention is
11 the only effective way to protect children from irreversible damage.
12 Unless lead poisoning is prevented, elevated blood lead levels will
13 result in impairment of the ability to think, concentrate, and learn.
14 (b) Medical research indicates that children can suffer permanent,
15 irreparable damage at blood levels even lower than 10 ug/dl, and that
16 there is no level of lead ingestion which is without adverse impact.
17 Medical research also indicates that fetal injuries from lead paint can
18 occur if women have elevated blood levels during pregnancy. Because of
19 this, intervention measures that wait until children have been exposed
20 have limited benefits, and the pursuit of primary prevention, which
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08049-02-3
S. 7406 2
1 means eliminating lead hazards before children are exposed, has been
2 recommended by the United States centers for disease control and
3 prevention and promoted by leading experts in the field as a critical
4 course of action to protect the health of young children.
5 (c) The predominant cause of lead poisoning in children is the inges-
6 tion of lead particles from deteriorating or abraded lead-based paint
7 from older and poorly maintained residences.
8 (d) Deteriorating lead-based paint or excessive amounts of lead-conta-
9 minated dust in these poorly maintained homes endangers the intellectual
10 and emotional development and physical well being of affected children.
11 In addition, unsafe work practices that inadequately control lead dust
12 in the repair or renovation of older homes can cause substantial lead
13 hazards.
14 (e) Although New York state banned the sale of lead paint in 1970, (l.
15 1970, ch. 338) seventy-four percent of New York's housing stock was
16 constructed prior to 1970. At least ninety percent of lead-based paint
17 still remaining in occupied housing exists in units built before 1960.
18 New York state has both the largest percentage and the largest absolute
19 number of older housing units with lead paint in the nation.
20 (f) The dangers posed by lead-based paint can be substantially
21 reduced, although not eliminated, by taking measures to prevent paint
22 deterioration and limiting children's exposure to paint chips and lead
23 dust.
24 (g) The deterioration of lead-based paint in older residences results
25 in increased expenses each year for the state of New York in the form of
26 special education and other education expenses, medical care for lead-
27 poisoned children, and expenditures for delinquent youth and others
28 needing special supervision.
29 (h) Older housing units remain an important part of New York's housing
30 stock, particularly for those of modest or limited incomes. The problem
31 of lead-based paint in housing affects urban, suburban and rural areas
32 of the state.
33 (i) The existing housing codes and enforcement systems in most juris-
34 dictions do not include primary prevention measures for lead hazards and
35 have proven ineffective in encouraging widespread lead-based paint
36 hazard abatement, mitigation, and control.
37 (j) The financial incentives currently in place have not proven suffi-
38 cient to motivate landlords and other property owners to undertake wide-
39 spread and effective lead-based paint hazard abatement, mitigation, and
40 control; moreover low and moderate income property owners may not have
41 access to the resources to eliminate or reduce substantially lead
42 hazards.
43 (k) Insurance companies are reluctant to provide coverage to property
44 owners in the absence of evidence that lead hazards have been appropri-
45 ately addressed.
46 (l) Knowledge of lead-based paint hazards, their control, mitigation,
47 abatement, and risk avoidance is not sufficiently widespread, especially
48 outside urban areas.
49 2. The purposes of this act are: (a) to increase the supply of afford-
50 able rental housing in the state of New York in which measures have been
51 taken to eliminate or substantially reduce the risk of childhood lead
52 poisoning;
53 (b) to ensure that New York's response to lead-based paint hazards
54 focuses on primary prevention as the essential tool to combat childhood
55 lead poisoning, and thus to substantially reduce, and eventually elimi-
S. 7406 3
1 nate, the incidence of childhood lead poisoning in the state of New
2 York;
3 (c) to establish and make enforcement of lead hazard control standards
4 in the state of New York more certain and more effective;
5 (d) to improve public awareness of lead safety issues and to educate
6 both property owners and tenants about practices that can reduce the
7 incidence of lead poisoning;
8 (e) to provide access to the resources for property owners and land-
9 lords who commit to undertake specified lead hazard reduction measures;
10 and
11 (f) to facilitate the availability and affordability of liability
12 insurance protection to those landlords and other owners who undertake
13 specified lead hazard reduction measures.
14 § 3. Section 1370 of the public health law is REPEALED and a new
15 section 1370 is added to read as follows:
16 § 1370. Definitions. 1. "Abatement" means any set of measures
17 designed to permanently eliminate lead-based paint or lead-based paint
18 hazards. Abatement includes the removal of lead-based paint, the perma-
19 nent enclosure or encapsulation of lead-based paint, the replacement of
20 components or fixtures painted with lead-based paint, and the removal or
21 permanent covering of soil-based hazards.
22 2. "Affected property" means a room or group of rooms within a proper-
23 ty constructed before nineteen hundred seventy that form a single inde-
24 pendent habitable dwelling unit for occupation by one or more individ-
25 uals that has living facilities with permanent provisions for living,
26 sleeping, eating, cooking, and sanitation. "Affected property" does not
27 include:
28 (a) an area not used for living, sleeping, eating, cooking, or sanita-
29 tion, such as an unfinished basement, that is not readily accessible to
30 children under seven years of age;
31 (b) a unit within a hotel, motel, or similar seasonal or transient
32 facility unless such unit is occupied by one or more persons at risk for
33 a period exceeding thirty days;
34 (c) an area which is secured and inaccessible to occupants;
35 (d) a unit which is not offered for rent or incident to employment;
36 (e) housing for the elderly, or a residential property designated
37 exclusively for persons with disabilities; except this exemption shall
38 not apply if a person at risk resides or is expected to reside in the
39 dwelling unit or visits the dwelling unit on a regular basis;
40 (f) an unoccupied dwelling unit or residential property that is to be
41 demolished, provided the dwelling unit or property will remain unoccu-
42 pied until demolition; or
43 (g) in cities of more than one million population, a multiple dwell-
44 ing, as defined in section four of the multiple dwelling law.
45 "Affected property" also excludes any property owned or operated by a
46 unit of federal, state, or local government, or any public, quasi-publ-
47 ic, or municipal corporation, if the property is subject to lead stand-
48 ards that are equal to, or more stringent than, the requirements for
49 lead-stabilized status under subdivision three of section thirteen
50 hundred seventy-six of this title, but does include privately-owned
51 properties that receive governmental rental assistance.
52 3. "Area of high risk" means an area designated as such by the
53 commissioner or his or her representative and consisting of one or more
54 dwellings in which a condition conducive to lead poisoning of children
55 is present or, additionally, any census tract or block group within the
S. 7406 4
1 state where, during any single year, more than twenty-five children have
2 been identified with elevated blood lead levels.
3 4. "Change in occupancy" means a change of tenant in an affected prop-
4 erty in which the property is vacated and possession is either surren-
5 dered to the owner or abandoned.
6 5. "Chewable surface" shall mean a protruding interior windowsill in
7 a dwelling unit in an affected property that is readily accessible to a
8 child under age seven. "Chewable surface" shall also mean any other type
9 of interior edge or protrusion in a dwelling unit in an affected proper-
10 ty, such as a rail or stair, where there is evidence that such other
11 edge or protrusion has been chewed or where an occupant has notified the
12 owner that a child under age seven residing in that affected property
13 has mouthed or chewed such edge or protrusion.
14 6. "Communities of concern" means those thirty municipalities in the
15 state that have the greatest numbers of children identified with
16 elevated blood lead levels in the prior calendar year within the meaning
17 of subdivision fourteen of this section.
18 7. "Condition conducive to lead poisoning" means: (a) a lead-based
19 paint hazard; and/or (b) other environmental conditions which may result
20 in significant lead exposure, including soil-lead hazards.
21 8. "Containment" means the physical measures taken to ensure that dust
22 and debris created or released during lead-based paint hazard reduction
23 are not spread, blown, or tracked from inside to outside of the work-
24 site.
25 9. "Council" means the advisory council on lead poisoning prevention
26 established pursuant to section thirteen hundred seventy-b of this
27 title.
28 10. "Deteriorated paint" means any interior or exterior paint or
29 other coating that is curling, scaling, flaking, blistering, peeling,
30 chipping, chalking, cracking, or loose in any manner, such that a space
31 or pocket of air is behind a portion thereof or such that the paint is
32 not completely adhered to the underlying subsurface, or is otherwise
33 damaged or separated from the substrate.
34 11. "Deteriorated subsurface" shall mean an unstable or unsound paint-
35 ed subsurface, an indication of which can be observed through a visual
36 inspection, including, but not limited to, rotted or decayed wood, or
37 wood or plaster that has been subject to moisture or disturbance.
38 12. "Dwelling" means a building or structure or portion thereof,
39 including the property occupied by and appurtenant to such dwelling,
40 which is occupied in whole or in part as the home, residence or sleeping
41 place of one or more human beings and shall, without limiting the fore-
42 going, include child care facilities for children under seven years of
43 age, kindergartens and nursery schools.
44 13. "Dwelling unit" means a:
45 (a) single-family dwelling, including attached structures such as
46 porches and stoops; or
47 (b) housing unit in a structure that contains more than one separate
48 housing unit, and in which each such unit is used or occupied, or
49 intended to be used or occupied, in whole or in part, as the home or
50 separate living quarters of one or more persons.
51 14. "Elevated blood lead level" means a quantity of lead in whole
52 venous blood, expressed in micrograms per deciliter (ug/dl), of 10 ug/dl
53 or greater, or such other more stringent level as may be specifically
54 provided in this title or adopted in regulation by the department pursu-
55 ant to rule or regulation.
S. 7406 5
1 15. "Encapsulation" means the application of a covering or coating
2 that acts as a barrier between the lead-based paint and the environment
3 and that relies for its durability on adhesion between the encapsulant
4 and the painted surface, and on the integrity of the existing bonds
5 between paint layers and between the paint and the substrate. Encapsula-
6 tion may be used as a method of abatement if it is designed and
7 performed so as to be permanent.
8 16. "Exterior surfaces" means:
9 (a) all fences and porches that are part of a dwelling that is or
10 contains an affected property;
11 (b) all outside surfaces of a dwelling that is or contains an affected
12 property that are accessible to a child under the age of seven and that:
13 (1) are attached to the outside of such dwelling; or
14 (2) consist of other buildings that are appurtenant to such dwelling,
15 such as a garage or shed; and
16 (c) all painted surfaces in stairways, hallways, entrance areas,
17 recreation areas, laundry areas, and garages within a multi-family
18 dwelling that are common to individual dwelling units, one or more of
19 which constitutes an affected property, and are accessible to a child
20 under the age of seven.
21 17. "Friction surface" means an interior or exterior painted surface
22 that touches or is in contact with another surface, such that the two
23 surfaces are capable of relative motion and abrade, scrape, or bind when
24 in relative motion. Friction surfaces shall include, but not be limited
25 to, window frames and jambs, doors, and hinges.
26 18. "g" means gram, "mg" means milligram (thousandth of a gram), and
27 "ug" means microgram (millionth of a gram).
28 19. "Hazard reduction" means measures designed to reduce or eliminate
29 human exposure to lead-based hazards.
30 20. "Health care provider" means any health care practitioner author-
31 ized to order a blood lead test and any facility licensed pursuant to
32 article twenty-eight of this chapter.
33 21. "High efficiency particle air vacuum" or "hepa-vacuum" means a
34 device capable of filtering out particles of 0.3 microns or greater from
35 a body of air at an efficiency of 99.97% or greater; "hepa-vacuum"
36 includes use of a hepa-vacuum.
37 22. "Impact surface" means an interior or exterior painted surface
38 that shows evidence, such as marking, denting, or chipping, that it is
39 subject to damage by repeated sudden force, such as certain parts of
40 door frames, moldings, or baseboards.
41 23. "Inspection" means a comprehensive survey by a properly accredited
42 person to determine the presence of lead-based paint and lead-based
43 paint hazards and the provision of a report explaining the results of
44 the inspection.
45 24. "Interior windowsill" means a portion of the horizontal window
46 ledge that is protruding into the interior of a room.
47 25. "Investigation" means an examination conducted by the owner of an
48 affected property, the owner's agent or employee, or someone retained by
49 the owner, in accordance with the requirements established by the deputy
50 commissioner, to determine whether the affected property meets the stan-
51 dards of lead-stabilized status as defined in subdivision three of
52 section thirteen hundred seventy-six of this title.
53 26. "Lead-based paint" means paint or other similar surface coating
54 material containing 1.0 milligrams of lead per square centimeter or
55 greater, as determined by laboratory analysis, or by an x-ray fluores-
56 cence analyzer. If an x-ray fluorescence analyzer is used, readings
S. 7406 6
1 shall be corrected for substrate bias when necessary as specified by the
2 performance characteristic sheets released by the United States environ-
3 mental protection agency and the United States department of housing and
4 urban development for the specific x-ray fluorescence analyzer used.
5 X-ray fluorescence readings shall be classified as positive, negative or
6 inconclusive in accordance with the United States department of housing
7 and urban development guidelines for the evaluation and control of lead-
8 based paint hazards in housing (June 1995, revised 1997) and the
9 performance characteristic sheets released by the United States environ-
10 mental protection agency and the United States department of housing and
11 urban development for the specific x-ray fluorescence analyzer used.
12 X-ray fluorescence readings that fall within the inconclusive zone, as
13 determined by the performance characteristic sheets, shall be confirmed
14 by laboratory analysis of paint chips, results shall be reported in
15 milligrams of lead per square centimeter and the measure of such labora-
16 tory analysis shall be definitive. If laboratory analysis is used to
17 determine lead content, results shall be reported in milligrams of lead
18 per square centimeter. Where the surface area of a paint chip sample
19 cannot be accurately measured or if an accurately measured paint chip
20 sample cannot be removed, a laboratory analysis may be reported in
21 percent by weight. In such case, lead-based paint shall mean any paint
22 or other similar surface-coating material containing more than 0.5% of
23 metallic lead, based on the non-volatile content of the paint or other
24 similar surface-coating material.
25 27. "Lead-based paint hazard" means any condition in, or proximate to,
26 a dwelling or dwelling unit occupied by a person at risk that causes
27 exposure to lead from lead-contaminated dust, from lead-based paint that
28 is deteriorated, or from lead-based paint that is present on chewable
29 surfaces, deteriorated subsurfaces, friction surfaces, or impact
30 surfaces, or in soil, that would result in adverse human health effects.
31 28. "Lead-contained" means property that has attained lead-contained
32 property status within the meaning of subdivision six of section thir-
33 teen hundred seventy-six of this title.
34 29. "Lead-contaminated dust" means surface dust that contains a mass
35 per area concentration of lead equal to or exceeding 40 micrograms per
36 square foot ("ug/ft2") on floors, or 250 ug/ft2 on interior windowsills
37 based on wipe sample, or 400 ug/ft2 on window wells, or such more strin-
38 gent standards as may be adopted by the department.
39 30. "Lead-free" means property that has attained lead-free property
40 status within the meaning of subdivision five of section thirteen
41 hundred seventy-six of this title.
42 31. "Lead-stabilized" means property that has attained lead-stabilized
43 property status within the meaning of subdivision four of section thir-
44 teen hundred seventy-six of this title.
45 32. "Local designee" means a municipal, county, or other official
46 designated by the deputy commissioner of public health as responsible
47 for assisting the designating authority, relevant state agencies, and
48 relevant county and municipal authorities, in implementing the activ-
49 ities specified by this article for the localities.
50 33. "Occupant" means any individual living or sleeping in a building,
51 or having possession of a space within a building.
52 34. "Owner" means a person, firm, corporation, nonprofit organization,
53 partnership, government, guardian, conservator, receiver, trustee, exec-
54 utor, or other judicial officer, or other entity which, alone or with
55 others, owns, holds, or controls the freehold or leasehold title or part
56 of the title to property, with or without actually possessing it. Such
S. 7406 7
1 term includes a vendee who possesses the title, but does not include a
2 mortgagee or an owner of a reversionary interest under a ground rent
3 lease. "Owner" includes any authorized agent of the owner, including a
4 property manager or leasing agent.
5 35. "Permanent" means an expected design life of at least twenty
6 years.
7 36. "Person" means any natural person.
8 37. "Person at risk" means a child under the age of seven years or a
9 pregnant woman who resides in an affected property.
10 38. "Program" means the lead poisoning prevention program in the
11 department established pursuant to section thirteen hundred seventy-a of
12 this title.
13 39. "Relocation expenses" means all expenses necessitated by the relo-
14 cation of a tenant's household to housing free of lead hazards, includ-
15 ing, but not limited to, moving and hauling expenses, the hepa-vacuuming
16 of all upholstered furniture, laundering of clothes and linens, payment
17 of a security deposit for the relocation housing, and installation and
18 connection of utilities and appliances.
19 40. "Soil-lead hazard" means soil in a play area where the soil-lead
20 concentration from a composite play area sample of bare soil is equal to
21 or greater than 400 parts per million; or in the rest of the yard when
22 the arithmetic mean lead concentration from a composite sample (or
23 arithmetic mean of composite samples) of bare soil from the rest of the
24 yard (i.e., non-play areas) is equal to or greater than 1,200 parts per
25 million.
26 41. "Tenant" means the individual named as the lessee in a lease,
27 rental agreement or other form of occupancy agreement, whether written
28 or oral, for a dwelling unit, and includes tenancies incident to employ-
29 ment. Where applicable, the term "tenant" shall also include any occu-
30 pant of the tenant's household.
31 42. "Wipe sample" means a sample collected by an appropriately accred-
32 ited person wiping a representative surface of known area, as determined
33 by American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM) e1728 ("standard prac-
34 tice for the field collection of settled dust samples using wipe sampl-
35 ing methods for lead determination by atomic spectrometry techniques"),
36 with lead determination conducted by an accredited laboratory partic-
37 ipating in the environmental lead laboratory accreditation program
38 (nlap).
39 § 4. Subdivision 2 of section 1370-a of the public health law, as
40 added by chapter 485 of the laws of 1992, paragraph (a) as amended by
41 section 4 of part A of chapter 58 of the laws of 2009 and paragraphs (c)
42 and (d) as amended by paragraphs (e) and (f) as added by chapter 532 of
43 the laws of 2022, is amended and three new subdivisions 4, 5 and 6 are
44 added to read as follows:
45 2. The department shall:
46 (a) identify and designate as communities of concern the thirty muni-
47 cipalities in the state having the greatest numbers of children identi-
48 fied with elevated blood lead levels, and, in cooperation with local
49 health officials and municipal officials, develop a local primary
50 prevention plan for each community of concern to prevent exposure to
51 lead consistent with this title. The commissioner is authorized to
52 enter into and shall enter into agreements or memoranda of understanding
53 with, and provide technical and other resources to, communities of
54 concern and shall ensure that the primary prevention plan targets
55 persons at risk living in the highest risk affected housing in the
56 community. Municipalities identified by the commissioner shall cooper-
S. 7406 8
1 ate fully with the department in the formulation and implementation of
2 the primary prevention plan for the designated community of concern;
3 (b) identify and designate as areas of high risk any census tract or
4 block group in the state in which during any single year, more than
5 twenty-five children have been identified with elevated blood lead
6 levels. In such areas of high risk, the department shall further require
7 that the county commissioner of health, in cooperation with appropriate
8 local municipal officials, prioritize and implement the inspection of
9 affected properties with persons at risk, and require the abatement of
10 lead-based paint hazards, or the stabilization of all conditions condu-
11 cive to lead poisoning in these inspected units using lead safe work
12 practices, in accordance with the definitions and provisions of this
13 title;
14 (c) promulgate and enforce regulations [for screening children and
15 pregnant women, including requirements for blood lead testing, for lead
16 poisoning, and for follow up of children and pregnant women who have
17 elevated blood lead levels] necessary for the implementation of all
18 portions of this title, except where responsibility for implementing
19 specific portions of this title is specifically assigned to the commis-
20 sioner of housing and community renewal or to the commissioner of taxa-
21 tion and finance;
22 [(b)] (d) enter into interagency agreements to coordinate lead poison-
23 ing prevention, exposure reduction, identification and treatment activ-
24 ities and lead reduction activities with other federal, state and local
25 agencies and programs;
26 [(c)](e) establish a statewide registry of lead levels of children
27 provided such information is maintained as confidential except for (i)
28 disclosure for medical treatment purposes; (ii) disclosure of non-iden-
29 tifying epidemiological data; and (iii) disclosure of information from
30 such registry to the statewide immunization information system estab-
31 lished by section twenty-one hundred sixty-eight of this chapter;
32 [(d)](f) develop and implement public education and community outreach
33 programs on lead exposure, detection and risk reduction;
34 [(e)] (g) require primary health care providers to provide the parent
35 or guardian of each child under six years of age anticipatory guidance
36 on lead poisoning prevention as part of routine care, including but not
37 limited to contact information for the state-designated childhood lead
38 poisoning primary prevention program serving their county; and
39 [(f)](h) develop and update as necessary, in consultation with the New
40 York state advisory council on lead poisoning prevention, a standardized
41 lead exposure risk assessment questionnaire that shall be available on
42 the department's website for primary health care providers to utilize
43 pursuant to subdivision two-a of section thirteen hundred seventy-c of
44 this title.
45 4. The commissioner or the commissioner's designee shall develop
46 culturally and linguistically appropriate information pamphlets regard-
47 ing childhood lead poisoning, the importance of testing for elevated
48 blood lead levels, prevention of childhood lead poisoning, treatment of
49 childhood lead poisoning, and tenants' and owners' rights and responsi-
50 bilities under this title. These information pamphlets shall be
51 distributed as follows:
52 (a) by the owner of any affected property or his or her agents or
53 employees at the time of the initiation and renewal of a rental agree-
54 ment to the tenant;
55 (b) by the health care provider to the parent or guardian of a child
56 at the time of a child's birth and at the time of any childhood immuni-
S. 7406 9
1 zation or vaccine unless it is established that such information
2 pamphlet has been provided previously to the parent or legal guardian by
3 the health care provider within the prior twelve months. Health care
4 providers shall also revise their patient forms to include a reminder to
5 check the lead screening status of each child under six years of age;
6 (c) by the owner or operator of any child care facility, pre-school,
7 or kindergarten class on or before October fifteenth of each calendar
8 year, to the parent or guardian of a child enrolled in such facility;
9 (d) by an obstetrician or gynecologist to each patient of child-bear-
10 ing age at the patient's first visit and at each pregnancy of the
11 patient; and
12 (e) by the provider of the women, infants and children program to each
13 person enrolled in such program and upon enrollment and annually there-
14 after.
15 5. Within three months after the close of the fiscal year, the commis-
16 sioner shall report to the advisory council established in section thir-
17 teen hundred seventy-b of this title on the department's implementation
18 of this section during the preceding period. Such report shall be
19 publicly available and shall include, at a minimum, a detailed statement
20 of revenue and expenditures and statement of the department's program,
21 supported by a statistical section with geographic indexing designed to
22 provide a detailed explanation of the department's enforcement, includ-
23 ing but not limited to the following:
24 (a) a statistical profile of dwellings in which violations have been
25 placed pursuant to this title, indicating the ages of the dwellings and
26 other factors relevant to the prevalence of lead-based paint hazards,
27 which may include the prior lead poisoning of a person at risk in the
28 dwelling, outstanding violations, emergency repair charges, tax arrears
29 and mortgage debt;
30 (b) the number of dwelling units inspected by the department or other
31 state or local agency pursuant to this title, the number of such units
32 where a person at risk resided, and the number of inspectors assigned to
33 conduct such inspections;
34 (c) the number of dwelling units in which the occupant complained of
35 peeling paint or a deteriorated subsurface and the number of pre-nine-
36 teen hundred seventy dwelling units in which the existence of such
37 conditions were confirmed by the department or other state or local
38 agency;
39 (d) the number of dwelling units where a person at risk resides in
40 which a violation was placed pursuant to this title, whether the
41 violation was placed in response to an occupant's complaint or other-
42 wise;
43 (e) an evaluation of the department's capability to timely inspect,
44 serve a notice of violation, and enforce the correction of violations;
45 (f) an evaluation of the department's implementation of a program of
46 inspection pursuant to subdivision six of section thirteen hundred
47 seventy-seven of this title; and
48 (g) a tabulation of all municipalities, census tracts, or census block
49 groups which have in any year more than twenty-five children with
50 elevated blood lead levels, including totals of the number of children
51 with such elevated blood lead levels by five point increments.
52 6. The commissioner shall designate a deputy commissioner of health
53 responsible for fulfilling the objectives of this title when such objec-
54 tives involve the responsibilities of the department.
55 § 5. Section 1370-b of the public health law is amended by adding a
56 new subdivision 5 to read as follows:
S. 7406 10
1 5. The department shall make recommendations to amend this title if
2 any of the following conditions occur:
3 (a) In fiscal year two thousand seventeen, the rate of children who
4 obtain blood lead testing in compliance with section thirteen hundred
5 seventy-c of this title is less than seventy-five percent;
6 (b) In fiscal year two thousand seventeen, the number of children in
7 this state whose blood lead level is equal to or exceeds 10 micrograms
8 per deciliter is greater than four thousand;
9 (c) In fiscal year two thousand eighteen, the rate of children who
10 obtain blood lead testing in compliance with section thirteen hundred
11 seventy-c of this title is less than ninety percent; or
12 (d) In fiscal year two thousand eighteen, the number of children in
13 this state whose blood lead level is equal to or exceeds 10 micrograms
14 per deciliter is greater than two thousand.
15 Such recommendations shall be submitted to the advisory council within
16 six months after the close of the fiscal year in which the condition
17 occurs.
18 § 6. Subdivision 1 of section 1370-c of the public health law, as
19 added by chapter 485 of the laws of 1992, is amended and four new subdi-
20 visions 5, 6, 7 and 8 are added to read as follows:
21 1. The department [is authorized to] shall promulgate and enforce
22 regulations establishing the means by which and the intervals at which
23 [children and pregnant women] persons at risk shall be screened for
24 elevated blood lead levels and for follow up of persons at risk who have
25 elevated blood lead levels. The department is also authorized to
26 require screening for lead poisoning in other high risk groups. At a
27 minimum, the department shall ensure that all children at both age one
28 year and at age two years and pregnant women shall be screened and that
29 all children who are considered at risk up to six years of age shall be
30 screened at least once each year.
31 5. Each health insurer or health maintenance organization shall report
32 annually to the department its aggregate data regarding compliance with
33 the screening requirements pursuant to this section. Such data shall
34 detail the number and percentage of children seen who were ages one and
35 two, the number and percentage who were screened at age one, and the
36 number and percentage who were screened at age two, separately organized
37 by zip code. This report on screening compliance shall be provided to
38 the department by March first following the end of the calendar year.
39 The comptroller shall include a review of compliance with this section
40 in any audit it performs.
41 6. The department shall include the screening and reporting require-
42 ments in its contracts for services under the medicaid and child health
43 plus programs or any other programs funded in whole or in part with
44 state or local funds and providing health services to persons at risk,
45 and shall impose compliance targets and appropriate penalties or sanc-
46 tions in the event such targets are not achieved.
47 7. By April fifteenth of each year the department shall report to the
48 health committees of the senate and assembly and make publicly available
49 a report on screening rates of the preceding year pursuant to this
50 section, including the actual number and estimated percentage of one
51 year old children and the actual number and estimated percentage of two
52 year old children screened for blood lead, the actual number and esti-
53 mated percentage of children screened at both one year of age and two
54 years of age, the performance of medicaid and child health plus programs
55 or any other programs funded in whole or in part with state and local
56 funds and providing health services to persons at risk, and its actions
S. 7406 11
1 to publicize and enforce the obligations on health care providers pursu-
2 ant to this section.
3 8. The department shall promulgate regulations establishing penalties
4 for knowing violations of subdivision two of this section.
5 § 7. Sections 1373 and 1375 of the public health law are REPEALED and
6 eight new sections 1370-f, 1373, 1375, 1376, 1377, 1378, 1379 and 1379-a
7 are added to read as follows:
8 § 1370-f. Response to a child with elevated blood lead levels and
9 conditions conducive to lead poisoning. 1. For each person at risk who
10 has a confirmed elevated blood lead level, primary health care providers
11 shall provide or make reasonable efforts to ensure the provision of a
12 complete diagnostic evaluation; medical treatment, if necessary; and
13 referral to the appropriate local or state health unit for environmental
14 management. A complete diagnostic evaluation shall include at a minimum:
15 a detailed lead exposure assessment, a nutritional assessment, including
16 iron status, and, as appropriate, development screening.
17 2. The commissioner or the commissioner's designated representative,
18 as the appropriate local or state health unit for environmental manage-
19 ment, shall conduct an environmental assessment, which shall include an
20 emergency inspection in accordance with subdivision three of section
21 thirteen hundred seventy-seven of this title, to determine the source of
22 exposure to lead for any person at risk referred pursuant to subdivision
23 one of this section.
24 3. For each person at risk who is referred for environmental manage-
25 ment pursuant to this section, whenever the commissioner or his or her
26 designated representative determines that a condition conducive to lead
27 poisoning exists in a dwelling, a written notice and demand for discon-
28 tinuance shall be issued in accordance with section thirteen hundred
29 seventy-eight of this title. The commissioner or the commissioner's
30 designated representative shall also immediately notify the appropriate
31 public welfare department of the issuance of such written notice and
32 demand.
33 4. Whenever the commissioner or his or her representative shall
34 designate an area of high risk, other than a census tract or block group
35 so designated pursuant to section thirteen hundred seventy-a of this
36 title he or she may give written notice and demand, served as provided
37 in section thirteen hundred seventy-eight of this title for the discon-
38 tinuance of a paint condition conducive to lead poisoning in any desig-
39 nated dwelling in such area within a specified period of time.
40 5. Whenever the commissioner or his or her designated representative
41 has issued a written notice and demand for a discontinuance of a condi-
42 tion conducive to lead poisoning, prior to clearing such condition as
43 meeting the requirements of this title, the commissioner or his or her
44 designated representative shall complete a clearance examination to
45 confirm the safety of the location. Such clearance examinations shall
46 include a visual assessment, dust sampling, submission of samples for
47 analysis for lead, interpretation of sampling results, and preparation
48 of a report. Clearance examinations shall be performed in accordance
49 with federal guidelines in 24 C.F.R. section 35.1340 or successor regu-
50 lation.
51 § 1373. Safe work practices for activities disturbing lead-based paint
52 or paint of unknown lead content in affected properties with persons at
53 risk. 1. All work performed by an owner or the owner's agents or
54 contractors, in affected property occupied by a person or persons at
55 risk, that disturbs lead-based paint or paint of undetermined lead
56 content shall be performed in accordance with safe work regulations
S. 7406 12
1 promulgated by the commissioner. Such regulations shall provide for,
2 among other things:
3 (a) notice to tenants;
4 (b) training requirements, which shall require that such work be
5 performed by persons who have, at a minimum, successfully completed a
6 course on lead-safe work practices given by or on behalf of the depart-
7 ment, or the division of housing and community renewal, by the United
8 States environmental protection agency or an entity authorized by it to
9 give such course, or by the United States department of housing and
10 urban development or an entity authorized by it to give such course;
11 (c) precautions to prevent entry into the work area by occupants until
12 clean-up is completed and for temporary relocation provided by the owner
13 for the occupants of a dwelling or dwelling unit to appropriate housing
14 when work cannot be performed safely;
15 (d) precautions to prevent the dispersion of lead dust and debris
16 during the work;
17 (e) prohibited practices of lead paint removal, including dry scraping
18 and sanding, use of power tools without proper environmental controls,
19 and the use of toxic substances;
20 (f) proper daily and final clean-up requirements;
21 (g) dust wipe clearance testing;
22 (h) pre-notification of local municipal code enforcement agencies or
23 health departments, where appropriate; and
24 (i) exceptions for small jobs that involve disturbing less than two
25 square feet of lead-based paint or paint of undetermined lead content or
26 less than ten percent of the total surface area of peeling paint on a
27 type of component with a small surface area, such as a windowsill or
28 door frame.
29 2. A tenant shall allow access to an affected property, at reasonable
30 times, to the owner to perform any work required under this title.
31 3. If a tenant must vacate an affected property for a period of twen-
32 ty-four hours or more in order to allow an owner to perform work that
33 will disturb the paint on interior surfaces, the owner shall pay to the
34 tenant in advance the reasonable relocation expenses that the tenant
35 incurs directly related to the required relocation.
36 4. The deputy commissioner or the deputy commissioner's designee,
37 within one hundred twenty days following the effective date of this
38 section, shall establish guidelines and a trainer's manual for a "lead-
39 safe housing awareness seminar" with a total class time of three hours
40 or less. Such guidelines and materials shall be made available so that
41 such courses may be offered by professional associations and community
42 organizations with a training capacity, existing accredited educational
43 institutions, and for-profit educational providers. All such offering
44 proposals shall be reviewed and approved, based on seminar content and
45 qualifications of instructors, by the deputy commissioner of housing and
46 community renewal or the deputy commissioner's designee.
47 § 1375. Accreditation of inspectors and contractors performing work.
48 1. No person shall act as a contractor or supervisor to perform the
49 work necessary for lead-based paint hazard abatement as defined in this
50 title unless that person is accredited pursuant to one of the following:
51 (a) Regulations that may be adopted by the commissioner pursuant to
52 this section governing the accreditation of individuals to engage in
53 lead-based paint activities sufficient to satisfy the requirements of 40
54 C.F.R. 745.325 or successor regulation;
S. 7406 13
1 (b) Certification by the United States environmental protection agency
2 to engage in lead-based paint activities pursuant to 40 C.F.R. 745.226
3 or successor regulation; or
4 (c) Certification by a state or tribal program authorized by the
5 United States environmental protection agency to certify individuals
6 engaged in lead-based paint activities pursuant to 40 C.F.R. 745.325 or
7 successor regulation.
8 The commissioner shall, by regulation, create exceptions to the
9 accreditation requirement for instances where the disturbance of lead-
10 based paint is small and incidental, such as work that disturbs surfaces
11 of less than either two square feet of peeling lead-based paint per room
12 or ten percent of the total surface area of peeling paint on a type of
13 component with a small surface area, such as a windowsill or door frame.
14 2. No person shall conduct an inspection required by sections thirteen
15 hundred seventy-six and thirteen hundred seventy-seven of this title,
16 unless that person is accredited pursuant to one of the following:
17 (a) regulations that may be adopted by the commissioner pursuant to
18 this section governing the accreditation of individuals eligible to
19 conduct the inspections required by this title sufficient to satisfy the
20 requirements of 40 C.F.R. 745.325 or successor regulation; or
21 (b) certification to conduct inspections by the United States environ-
22 mental protection agency pursuant to 40 C.F.R. 745.226(b) or successor
23 regulation; or
24 (c) certification by a state or tribal program authorized by the
25 United States environmental protection agency to certify individuals
26 engaged in lead-based paint activities pursuant to 40 C.F.R. 745.325 or
27 successor regulation.
28 3. The commissioner may adopt regulations, sufficient to satisfy the
29 requirements of 40 C.F.R. 745.325 or successor regulation, governing the
30 accreditation of individuals engaging in lead-based paint activities
31 under this title or eligible to conduct the inspections required by this
32 title. The accreditation of such persons pursuant to such regulations
33 shall extend for a period of three years unless the deputy commissioner
34 has probable cause to believe a person accredited under this section has
35 violated the terms of the accreditation or engaged in illegal or uneth-
36 ical conduct related to inspections required by this title in which case
37 the accreditation to perform inspections shall be suspended pending a
38 hearing in accordance with the provisions of the state administrative
39 procedure act. The commissioner shall establish by regulation a schedule
40 of fees for the accreditation and registration of such persons. Such
41 fees shall be required to be paid at the time of initial registration
42 and at the time of subsequent renewal of registration, and shall be
43 sufficient to cover all costs, including the costs of state personnel,
44 attributable to accreditation activities conducted under this section.
45 (a) Fees collected pursuant to this subdivision will be held in a
46 continuing, non-lapsing special fund to be used for accreditation
47 purposes under this section.
48 (b) The fund established under this subdivision shall be invested and
49 reinvested and any investment earnings shall be paid into the fund.
50 4. Any violation of the provisions of this section shall be a misde-
51 meanor.
52 § 1376. Requirements for affected properties occupied by persons at
53 risk. 1. All affected properties occupied by persons at risk shall be
54 maintained free of conditions conducive to lead paint poisoning.
55 2. Within two years following the effective date of this section the
56 owner of any affected property that is occupied by a person at risk must
S. 7406 14
1 certify, through a sworn statement in a form prescribed by the commis-
2 sioner, that the property meets "lead-stabilized" status as defined by
3 subdivision three of this section and the owner is complying with subdi-
4 vision two of section thirteen hundred seventy-seven of this title,
5 unless a report has been submitted by a certified inspector stating that
6 the property is either "lead-free" or is "lead-contained" as provided
7 for in subdivision five or six of this section.
8 3. An affected property will be considered to be "lead-stabilized"
9 when:
10 (a) All exterior and interior painted surfaces have been visually
11 reviewed; and all chipping, peeling, or flaking lead-based paint or
12 paint of unknown lead content on exterior and interior painted surfaces
13 has been removed and repainted, or stabilized and repainted, and any
14 structural defect that is causing or likely to cause lead-based paint or
15 paint of unknown lead content to chip, peel, or flake that the owner of
16 the affected property has knowledge of, or with the exercise of reason-
17 able care should have knowledge of, has been repaired; and
18 (b) All window friction surfaces with lead-based paint or paint of
19 unknown lead content have had such paint removed or permanently covered,
20 such as via the installation of replacement window channels or slides,
21 and interior window troughs and windowsills have been either stripped
22 and repainted, replaced, or encapsulated with vinyl, metal, or any other
23 durable materials which render the surface smooth and cleanable; and
24 (c) All doors and doorways have been adjusted or re-hung as necessary
25 to prevent the rubbing together of any surface with lead-based paint or
26 paint of unknown lead content with another surface; and
27 (d) All bare floors have been made smooth and cleanable; and
28 (e) All work has been completed in compliance with the safe work prac-
29 tice regulations promulgated pursuant to section thirteen hundred seven-
30 ty-three of this title; and
31 (f) At the completion of any activities described in this subdivision
32 that disturb lead-based paint or paint of unknown lead content:
33 (i) the interior of the affected property has been HEPA vacuumed and
34 washed with high phosphate detergent or its equivalent; and
35 (ii) clearance for lead dust hazards has been achieved as determined
36 by wipe samples in all areas accessible to persons at risk, taken by
37 properly accredited independent personnel after completion of all activ-
38 ities undertaken pursuant to subdivision two of this section.
39 4. An owner certifying that an affected property meets "lead-stabi-
40 lized" status under subdivision two of this section shall retain the
41 sworn certification, which shall be valid for three years, and make it
42 available for inspection by department or local officials, including the
43 results of wipe tests when conducted, and shall provide a copy of the
44 certification and wipe test results to the tenant.
45 5. An affected property will be considered to be "lead-free" for the
46 purposes of this section if the owner of the affected property submits
47 to the deputy commissioner's designee for the jurisdiction in which such
48 property is located an inspection report which indicates that the
49 affected property has been tested by an inspector, accredited pursuant
50 to the provisions of section thirteen hundred seventy-five of this
51 title, for the presence of lead in accordance with standards and proce-
52 dures established by the regulations promulgated by the commissioner and
53 states under penalties of perjury that there is no lead-based paint or
54 lead-contaminated dust present on the interior surfaces of the dwelling
55 unit, no lead-based paint on the interior surfaces of the common areas
56 of the property, and no lead-based paint present on any of the exterior
S. 7406 15
1 surfaces of the property. A copy of the most recent inspection report
2 shall be provided to the tenant.
3 6. An affected property will be considered to be "lead-contained" for
4 the purposes of this section if the owner of the affected property
5 submits a report by a certified inspector, accredited pursuant to the
6 provisions of section thirteen hundred seventy-five of this title, which
7 indicates that the affected property has been tested for the presence of
8 lead-based paint and lead-contaminated dust in accordance with the stan-
9 dards and procedures established by regulations promulgated by the
10 commissioner and states under penalties of perjury that:
11 (a) All interior surfaces in the affected property either do not
12 contain lead-based paint or have been permanently abated; and
13 (b)(i) All exterior painted surfaces of the affected property that
14 were chipping, peeling, or flaking have been restored with non-lead
15 based paint and no exterior painted surfaces of the affected property
16 are chipping, peeling, or flaking; or
17 (ii) All exterior painted surfaces of the affected property have been
18 covered with vinyl siding or similar siding and sealed in a manner that
19 prevents exposure to chipping, peeling, or flaking paint; and
20 (c) Clearance for lead dust hazards has been achieved as determined by
21 wipe samples in all areas accessible to persons at risk, taken by prop-
22 erly accredited independent personnel. A copy of the inspection report
23 shall be provided to the tenant.
24 7. In order to maintain "lead-contained" status the owner of an
25 affected property with lead-based paint on any exterior surface which
26 has been certified as "lead-contained" pursuant to subdivision six of
27 this section shall submit to the deputy commissioner's designee for the
28 jurisdiction in which such property is located every three years a
29 certification by an inspector, stating under penalties of perjury that
30 no exterior painted surface of the affected property is chipping, peel-
31 ing, or flaking, and that there has been no compromise of any interior
32 abatement system that relies upon the enclosure or encapsulation for
33 lead-based paint. A copy of such certification shall be retained by the
34 owner and made available for inspection by department or local officials
35 and shall be provided to the tenant.
36 § 1377. Due diligence inquiries; investigation and inspection of
37 affected properties. 1. Beginning two years after the effective date of
38 this section, unless the owner of an affected property has previously
39 documented in the manner required by the deputy commissioner that a
40 property has been determined to have achieved "lead-free" property
41 status or "lead-contained" property status, the owner of an affected
42 property shall make a due diligence inquiry to ascertain whether a
43 person at risk resides in an affected property.
44 (a) No occupant in a dwelling unit in such affected property shall
45 refuse or unreasonably fail to provide accurate and truthful information
46 regarding the residency of a person at risk.
47 (b) All leases offered to tenants or prospective tenants in affected
48 properties must contain a notice, conspicuously set forth therein, which
49 advises tenants of the obligations of the owner and tenant as set forth
50 in this section. Such notice must be in a manner approved by the deputy
51 commissioner, the content of which shall, at a minimum, be in English
52 and Spanish. The owner of an affected property shall provide the occu-
53 pant of such dwelling unit with a pamphlet developed pursuant to subdi-
54 vision four of section thirteen hundred seventy-a of this title.
55 (c)(i) The owner of such affected property shall provide to an occu-
56 pant of a dwelling unit at the signing of a lease, including a renewal
S. 7406 16
1 lease, if any, or upon any agreement to lease, or at the commencement of
2 occupancy if there is no lease, a notice in English and Spanish, the
3 form and content of which shall be approved by the department, inquiring
4 whether a person at risk resides or will reside therein. If there is a
5 lease, such notice shall be included in such lease or be attached as a
6 rider to such lease. Such notice shall be completed by the occupant at
7 the time of such signing of a lease, including a renewal lease, if any,
8 or such agreement to lease, or at such commencement of occupancy.
9 (ii) Where an occupant has responded to the notice provided by the
10 owner pursuant to subparagraph (i) of this paragraph by indicating that
11 no person at risk resides therein, during the period between the date of
12 such response and the delivery of the notice provided by the owner
13 pursuant to paragraph (d) of this subdivision during the immediately
14 following year the occupant shall have the responsibility to inform the
15 owner of any person at risk that comes to reside therein during such
16 period.
17 (d)(i) Each year, an owner of an affected property shall, no earlier
18 than January first and no later than January sixteenth, except as
19 provided for in subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (c) of this subdivision,
20 present to the occupant of each dwelling unit in such affected property
21 a notice inquiring as to whether a person at risk resides therein. Such
22 notice, the form and content of which shall be approved by the deputy
23 commissioner, shall be presented as provided for in subparagraph (ii) of
24 paragraph (c) of this subdivision, and shall be in English and Spanish.
25 (ii) The owner may present the notice required by subparagraph (i) of
26 this paragraph by delivering said notice by any one of the following
27 methods:
28 (1) by first class mail, addressed to the occupant of the dwelling
29 unit;
30 (2) by hand delivery to the occupant of the dwelling unit; or
31 (3) by enclosure with the January rent bill, if such rent bill is
32 delivered after December fifteenth but no later than January sixteenth.
33 (iii) (1) Upon receipt of such notice the occupant shall have the
34 responsibility to deliver by February fifteenth of that year, a written
35 response to the owner indicating whether or not a person at risk resides
36 therein. If, subsequent to delivery of such notice, the owner does not
37 receive such written response by February fifteenth, and does not other-
38 wise have actual knowledge as to whether a person at risk resides there-
39 in, then the owner shall at reasonable times and upon reasonable notice
40 inspect that occupant's dwelling unit to ascertain the residency of a
41 person at risk and, when necessary, conduct an investigation in order to
42 make that determination. Where, between February sixteenth and March
43 first of that year, the owner has made reasonable attempts to gain
44 access to a dwelling unit to determine if a person at risk resides in
45 that dwelling unit and was unable to gain access, the owner shall notify
46 the deputy commissioner or the deputy commissioner's local designee of
47 that circumstance.
48 (2) Where an occupant has responded to the notice provided by the
49 owner pursuant to subparagraph (i) of this paragraph by indicating that
50 no person at risk resides therein, during the period between the date of
51 such response and the delivery of the notice provided by the owner
52 pursuant to this subdivision during the immediately following year the
53 occupant shall have the responsibility to inform the owner of any person
54 at risk that comes to reside therein during such period.
55 (e) The owner shall make and maintain a record of all due diligence
56 inquiries, in electronic or hard-copy format, for a period of six years.
S. 7406 17
1 Copies of such records shall be made available upon request to the depu-
2 ty commissioner or his or her local designee.
3 2. Beginning two years after the effective date of this section, when
4 the owner determines that a person at risk resides at an affected prop-
5 erty as provided in subdivision one of this section, and the owner of an
6 affected property has not previously documented in the manner required
7 by the deputy commissioner that a property has been determined to have
8 achieved either "lead-free" property status or "lead-contained" property
9 status, notwithstanding any certification completed pursuant to subdivi-
10 sion two of section thirteen hundred seventy-six of this title, the
11 owner shall then cause an investigation to be made, either directly by
12 the owner, the owner's agent or employee, or by any other person author-
13 ized by the deputy commissioner, to determine whether such property
14 complies, at a minimum, with "lead-stabilized" property status. Alterna-
15 tively, the owner may cause an inspection to be made by a person trained
16 and accredited for such inspections as described in section thirteen
17 hundred seventy-five of this title for the purpose of determining wheth-
18 er the affected property complies with either "lead-free" property
19 status or "lead-contained" property status.
20 (a) The investigation to ascertain whether a property complies with
21 "lead-stabilized" property status shall occur at least once a year and
22 more often if necessary, such as when the owner knows or should reason-
23 ably be aware that a person at risk has become an occupant of the
24 affected property.
25 (b) An inspection or investigation shall, in addition, be conducted
26 when, in the exercise of reasonable care, an owner knows or should know
27 of a condition that is reasonably foreseeable to be conducive to lead
28 poisoning, or when an occupant specifically requests that an inspection
29 or investigation be made based upon his or her reasonable belief that
30 such a condition exists, or when an occupant makes a complaint to the
31 owner concerning a condition that the owner knows or should know is
32 reasonably foreseeable to be conducive to lead poisoning.
33 (c) In addition to any investigations or inspections required under
34 paragraphs (a) or (b) of this subdivision, the owner shall cause such an
35 investigation or inspection to be made within the thirty days prior to
36 the leasing, rental, or other turnover of an affected property, and
37 shall report the findings of that investigation or inspection to
38 prospective tenants in accordance with Title X of the federal residen-
39 tial lead poisoning prevention act and this title.
40 (d) The owner shall make and maintain a record of all investigations
41 or inspections conducted under this subdivision in a form prescribed by
42 the deputy commissioner. The owner shall maintain such record, in elec-
43 tronic or hard-copy format, for a period of six years. Copies of such
44 records shall be made available upon request to the deputy commissioner,
45 his or her local designee, tenants and occupants of the affected proper-
46 ty, and any prospective tenants or occupants of the affected property.
47 (e) The owner shall cause a summary of such investigation or
48 inspection report, in a form prescribed by the deputy commissioner, to
49 be conspicuously posted in a common area of the dwelling in or adjacent
50 to main entrances. Where there is more than one affected property in the
51 dwelling, the summary shall be posted in a common area of the dwelling
52 in, or adjacent to, the main entrance or entrances. In cases where it is
53 not feasible to post such reports in a common area, the owner or agent
54 shall deliver individual copies of such summary to each affected unit.
55 Said summary shall indicate that the full report of such investigation
56 or inspection is available to tenants upon request.
S. 7406 18
1 3. Beginning two years after the effective date of this section, the
2 deputy commissioner's designee for the jurisdiction in which such prop-
3 erty is located shall order an inspection of an affected property by an
4 inspector accredited pursuant to the provisions of section thirteen
5 hundred seventy-five of this title, at the expense of the owner of the
6 affected property, whenever the deputy commissioner's designee for the
7 jurisdiction in which such property is located, receives notification
8 that the affected property does not reasonably appear to comply with
9 either the lead-free, lead-contained, or lead-stabilized property status
10 and that a person at risk resides in the affected property. Any state or
11 local agency employees who have occasion to observe deteriorated paint
12 or any other condition believed to be conducive to lead poisoning at an
13 affected property are authorized to report, and shall report, such
14 conditions to the deputy commissioner's designee, and in such instance,
15 the deputy commissioner's designee shall require an inspection to be
16 made of the affected property. An inspection required under this subdi-
17 vision shall be completed within ninety days after notification of the
18 deputy commissioner's designee for the jurisdiction in which such prop-
19 erty is located. In the event such inspection results in a finding of
20 lead hazards, a report of such findings shall be immediately transmitted
21 by the deputy commissioner or the deputy commissioner's designee for the
22 jurisdiction in which such property is located to the appropriate local
23 social services department pursuant to section one hundred forty-three-b
24 of the social services law.
25 4. The deputy commissioner, or the deputy commissioner's designee for
26 the jurisdiction in which such property is located, shall order an
27 inspection of an affected property for conditions conducive to lead
28 poisoning, by an inspector accredited pursuant to the provisions of
29 section thirteen hundred seventy-five of this title, at the expense of
30 the owner of the affected property, whenever the deputy commissioner or
31 the deputy commissioner's designee for the jurisdiction in which such
32 property is located is notified that a person at risk who resides in the
33 affected property or spends more than fifteen hours per week in the
34 affected property has an elevated blood lead level. An inspection under
35 this subdivision shall be completed within fifteen days after notifica-
36 tion of the deputy commissioner or the deputy commissioner's designee
37 for the jurisdiction in which such property is located. In the event
38 such inspection results in a finding of conditions conducive to lead
39 poisoning, a report of such finding shall be promptly transmitted by the
40 deputy commissioner, or the deputy commissioner's designee for the
41 jurisdiction in which the subject property is located, to the appropri-
42 ate local social services department pursuant to section one hundred
43 forty-three-b of the social services law.
44 5. An owner of an affected property at any time after the effective
45 date of this section, may request voluntarily that the deputy commis-
46 sioner, or the deputy commissioner's designee for the jurisdiction in
47 which such property is located, conduct an inspection by an inspector
48 accredited pursuant to the provisions of section thirteen hundred seven-
49 ty-five of this title, of an affected property, at the expense of the
50 owner, to determine whether it complies with the requirements for lead-
51 free property status, lead-contained property status, or lead-stabilized
52 property status. Such inspection shall be completed within thirty days
53 after the owner's request.
54 6. The deputy commissioner shall establish a primary prevention
55 inspection program in areas of high risk to identify and target affected
56 properties where there are persons who may be exposed to lead-based
S. 7406 19
1 paint hazards in order that inspections may be conducted without the
2 receipt of a complaint or other such event triggering an inspection, and
3 require for each such area of high risk that the county commissioner of
4 health or his or her other local designee, and such local municipal
5 building or property maintenance code enforcement officials having
6 jurisdiction over such area as the deputy commissioner shall designate,
7 prepare and implement a strategy to:
8 (a) assure that a sufficient number of qualified inspection personnel
9 are available;
10 (b) identify the affected properties with persons at risk in that
11 municipality, census tract or census block group that are most likely to
12 contain conditions conducive to lead poisoning;
13 (c) require, at the owner's expense, the inspection of affected prop-
14 erties for conditions conducive to lead poisoning; and
15 (d) require that such inspected properties attain lead-free, lead-con-
16 tained, or lead-stabilized status, and elimination of all conditions
17 conducive to lead poisoning in such properties, using lead safe work
18 practices in accordance with the provisions of this title.
19 In preparing this primary prevention inspection strategy, the responsi-
20 ble officials shall, among other factors, consider reports of persons at
21 risk with elevated blood lead levels in other units in a building; the
22 age and maintenance history of a building; and any available data on the
23 presence of young children from birth certificates issued by the depart-
24 ment.
25 7. An inspector shall submit a verified report of the result of the
26 inspection conducted pursuant to subdivision two, three, four, five or
27 six of this section to the deputy commissioner or the deputy commission-
28 er's designee for the jurisdiction in which such property is located,
29 the owner, and the tenant, if any, of the affected property. Such report
30 shall be completed subject to penalties for perjury and include the
31 inspector's state registration number and date of certification to
32 perform such inspections. In the event such inspection results in a
33 finding of lead-based paint hazards or conditions conducive to lead
34 poisoning, a report of such findings shall be promptly transmitted by
35 the deputy commissioner or the deputy commissioner's designee for the
36 jurisdiction in which such property is located and to the appropriate
37 local social services department pursuant to section one hundred forty-
38 three-b of the social services law.
39 8. Unless an affected property has been certified as "lead-free prop-
40 erty status" as provided in subdivision two of section thirteen hundred
41 seventy of this title, any written or printed lease for the lease or
42 renting of an affected property for a term beginning at a date more than
43 one year following the effective date of this title shall include the
44 following provisions, in both English and Spanish, in prominently
45 displayed and easily readable type or printing:
46 "This property, constructed before January 1, 1970, may contain lead-
47 based paint. Lead-based paint, if it is not properly removed or main-
48 tained, may cause brain damage or other serious health impacts in chil-
49 dren less than seven years of age and fetal injury in pregnant women.
50 New York state law requires the landlord to comply with maintenance
51 standards to avoid lead-based paint hazards. This property (owner or
52 agent to check appropriate box):
53 has been inspected by an independent inspector certified under
54 New York state law within the past sixty days and found not to contain
55 lead-based paint hazards.
S. 7406 20
1 has been investigated by the owner, manager, or his or her agent
2 within the past thirty days and observable lead-based paint hazards have
3 been stabilized.
4 has not been inspected for lead-based paint hazards. This prop-
5 erty may contain lead-based paint hazards dangerous to a child less than
6 seven years of age."
7 9. At the time of the lease or renting of an affected property without
8 a written or printed lease at a date more than one year following the
9 effective date of this section, the front entranceway or door of the
10 affected property shall be posted with a sign containing the language
11 quoted in subdivision eight of this section, in both English and Span-
12 ish, and in prominently displayed and easily readable type or printing.
13 § 1378. Enforcement. 1. Whenever the deputy commissioner or deputy
14 commissioner's designee finds an affected property to not be in compli-
15 ance with the applicable requirements for either lead-free, or lead-con-
16 tained, or lead-stabilized property status, the deputy commissioner or
17 deputy commissioner's designee shall give written notice and demand,
18 served as provided herein, for the discontinuance of any condition fail-
19 ing to comply with either the lead-free, lead-contained, or lead-stabi-
20 lized standards in an affected property within a specified period of
21 time not to exceed thirty days. The deputy commissioner or deputy
22 commissioner's designee shall also immediately notify the appropriate
23 local social services department of the issuance of such written notice
24 and demand.
25 2. In the event of failure to comply with a notice and demand, the
26 deputy commissioner or the deputy commissioner's designee shall conduct
27 a formal hearing upon due notice in accordance with the provisions of
28 this section and on proof of violation of such notice and demand shall
29 order the owner of an affected property to take specified corrective
30 actions to have the affected property satisfy the requirements, at a
31 minimum, of lead-contained or lead-stabilized property and may assess a
32 penalty not to exceed two thousand five hundred dollars for each
33 affected property. In the event that such failure to comply concerns a
34 notice and demand issued in response to an environmental assessment
35 undertaken pursuant to subdivision three of section thirteen hundred
36 seventy-seven of this title, the deputy commissioner or the deputy
37 commissioner's designee, shall cause the condition to be remediated
38 within the next thirty days, and may place a lien on such property and
39 commence such legal actions as are necessary to recover from the owner
40 of such property the deputy commissioner's expenditures in connection
41 therewith, including legal fees.
42 3. A notice required by this section may be served upon an owner or
43 occupant of the dwelling or agent of the owner in the same manner as a
44 summons in a civil action or by registered or certified mail to his or
45 her last known address or place of residence.
46 4. The deputy commissioner's designee having jurisdiction, county and
47 city commissioners of health, and local housing code enforcement agen-
48 cies designated by the deputy commissioner's designee having jurisdic-
49 tion or county or city commissioner of health shall have the same
50 authority, powers and duties within their respective jurisdictions as
51 has the deputy commissioner under the provisions of this title.
52 5. The deputy commissioner or deputy commissioner's representative and
53 an official or agency specified in subdivision one of this section may
54 request and shall receive from all public officers, departments and
55 agencies of the state and its political subdivisions such cooperation
S. 7406 21
1 and assistance as may be necessary or proper in the enforcement of the
2 provisions of this title.
3 6. Any violation of the requirements of section thirteen hundred
4 seventy-six of this title shall also constitute a violation of any
5 municipal or other local housing code and shall subject the owner of an
6 affected property to all orders, criminal penalties, and other civil
7 forfeitures or penalties that are possible under such municipal or local
8 housing code, and shall also constitute a rent impairing violation with-
9 in the meaning of section three hundred two-a of the multiple dwelling
10 law and section three hundred five-a of the multiple residence law.
11 7. Nothing contained in this title shall be construed to alter or
12 abridge any duties and powers now or hereafter existing in the deputy
13 commissioner, county boards of health, city and county commissioners of
14 health, the New York city department of housing preservation and devel-
15 opment and the department of health, local boards of health or other
16 public agencies or public officials, or any private party, including the
17 power to impose more stringent measures to protect public health.
18 8. The office of the attorney general and all local authorities
19 responsible for the enforcement of state, municipal, and other local
20 housing codes are hereby empowered to and shall vigorously enforce civil
21 remedies and/or criminal penalties provided for by law arising out of
22 the failure to comply with the requirements of this section, sections
23 thirteen hundred seventy-five or thirteen hundred seventy-six of this
24 title and may seek injunctive relief where appropriate.
25 9. (a) Any administrative proceeding or civil or criminal action by
26 state or local officials to enforce the provisions of this section shall
27 be reported to the deputy commissioner.
28 (b) The deputy commissioner shall issue an annual report outlining
29 specifically the enforcement actions brought pursuant to this section,
30 the identity of the owners of the affected properties, the authority
31 bringing the enforcement action, the nature of the action, and describ-
32 ing the criminal penalties and/or civil relief.
33 10. The removal of a tenant from or the surrender by the tenant of a
34 dwelling with respect to which the deputy commissioner or his or her
35 representative, pursuant to subdivision one of this section, has given
36 written notice and demand for the discontinuance of a condition condu-
37 cive to lead poisoning shall not absolve, relieve or discharge any
38 persons chargeable therewith from the obligation and responsibility to
39 discontinue such condition conducive to lead poisoning in accordance
40 with the method of discontinuance prescribed therefor in such notice and
41 demand.
42 § 1379. Injunctive relief. 1. If an owner of an affected property
43 fails to comply with the requirements of section thirteen hundred seven-
44 ty-six of this title, a person at risk or the parent or legal guardian
45 of a person at risk or other interested persons may seek injunctive
46 relief from a court of competent jurisdiction against the owner of the
47 affected property in the form of a court order to compel compliance.
48 2. A court shall not grant the injunctive relief requested pursuant to
49 subdivision one of this section, unless, at least thirty days prior to
50 the filing requesting the injunction, the owner of the affected property
51 has received written notice of the violation of standards contained in
52 section thirteen hundred seventy-six of this title and has failed to
53 bring the affected property into compliance with the applicable stand-
54 ards. This notice to the owner of the affected property is satisfied
55 when any of the following has occurred:
S. 7406 22
1 (a) A person at risk, his or her parent or legal guardian, or attor-
2 ney, has notified the owner of an affected property that the property
3 fails to meet the requirements for either lead-contained property status
4 or lead-stabilized property status;
5 (b) The deputy commissioner, the commissioner of housing and community
6 renewal, or the designee of either of these such officials, a municipal
7 or other local authority with responsibility for enforcing any local
8 housing code or codes, or a local or municipal department of health has
9 notified the owner of the affected property of violations of the
10 provisions of this title occurring within an affected property or of the
11 failure to register and file reports as required by this title; or
12 (c) A criminal or civil action pursuant to this title has been brought
13 by either state or local enforcement officials to enforce this title.
14 3. The notice requirement of subdivision two of this section shall not
15 apply with respect to applications for preliminary injunctive relief.
16 4. A person who prevails in an action to enforce the provisions of
17 this title is entitled to an award of the costs of the litigation and to
18 an award of reasonable attorneys' fees in an amount to be fixed by the
19 court.
20 5. Cases brought before the court under this section shall be granted
21 an accelerated hearing.
22 6. The legal remedies created under this section shall be in addition
23 to any other common law or statutory remedies, which may be pursued in
24 the same or separate action or proceeding.
25 § 1379-a. Retaliatory evictions prohibited. 1. An owner of an
26 affected property may not evict or take any other retaliatory action
27 against a person at risk or his or her parent or legal guardian in
28 response to the actions of the person at risk, his or her parent or
29 legal guardian in:
30 (a) providing information to the owner of the affected property, the
31 deputy commissioner, the commissioner of housing and community renewal,
32 or the designee of either of these officials, a local or municipal
33 department of health, or a municipal or other local authority with
34 responsibility for enforcing any local housing code or codes concerning
35 lead-based paint hazards within an affected property or elevated blood
36 lead levels of a person at risk; or
37 (b) enforcing any of his or her rights under this title.
38 2. For purposes of this section, a retaliatory action includes any of
39 the following actions in which the activities protected under subdivi-
40 sion one of this section are a material factor in motivating said
41 action:
42 (a) A refusal to renew a lease;
43 (b) Termination of a tenancy;
44 (c) An arbitrary rent increase or decrease in services to which the
45 person at risk or his or her parent or legal guardian is entitled; or
46 (d) Any form of constructive eviction.
47 3. A person at risk or his or her parent or legal guardian subject to
48 an eviction or retaliatory action under this section is entitled to the
49 relief as may be provided by statute and/or any further relief deemed
50 just and equitable by the court, and is eligible for reasonable attor-
51 neys' fees and costs.
52 § 8. The real property law is amended by adding two new sections 236-a
53 and 242-a to read as follows:
54 § 236-a. Discrimination against persons and families receiving public
55 assistance or governmental housing subsidies prohibited. 1. Any person,
56 firm or corporation owning or having in charge any apartment house,
S. 7406 23
1 tenement house or other building or manufactured home park used for
2 dwelling purposes who shall refuse to rent any or part of any such
3 building or manufactured home park to any person or family, or who
4 discriminates in the terms, conditions, or privileges of any such
5 rental, on the ground that such person or family receives public assist-
6 ance or any other government subsidy for payment of rent shall be guilty
7 of a misdemeanor and on conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine
8 of not less than five hundred nor more than one thousand dollars for
9 each offense.
10 2. (a) Where discriminatory conduct prohibited by this section has
11 occurred, an aggrieved individual shall have a cause of action in any
12 court of competent jurisdiction for damages, declaratory and injunctive
13 relief.
14 (b) In all actions brought under this section, the court shall allow
15 the prevailing plaintiff reasonable attorney's fees and, upon a finding
16 that defendant's discriminatory conduct was willful, an additional
17 amount as liquidated damages equal to two thousand five hundred dollars
18 shall be awarded.
19 § 242-a. Inspection of residential real property for lead-based paint
20 prior to transfer. 1. (a) Effective January first, two thousand twen-
21 ty-five, the transferor or grantor of any residential real property
22 erected prior to the year nineteen hundred seventy, or in cities with a
23 population of one million or more a dwelling erected prior to the year
24 nineteen hundred sixty, shall provide to the transferee or grantee a
25 certificate that such property has been tested for the presence of lead-
26 based paint, as defined in subdivision twenty-six of section thirteen
27 hundred seventy of the public health law, and a report of such test
28 indicating the locations where lead-based paint has been detected, if
29 any. Such testing shall not be valid unless performed by a person
30 accredited pursuant to section thirteen hundred seventy-five of the
31 public health law. A copy of such certificate shall be filed with the
32 department of health.
33 (b) The presentation of a certificate of such testing by a prior owner
34 of said property and evidence of filing such certificate and report with
35 the department of health shall be deemed to be in compliance with the
36 provisions of this subdivision.
37 (c) In the event the transferor or grantor has not received from a
38 prior owner a certification and report of such tests as set forth in
39 this subdivision, the costs of testing for lead-based paint and the
40 preparation of a certificate and report thereof as provided in this
41 subdivision shall be deductible by the transferor or grantor, up to the
42 amount of five hundred dollars, or in a building with more than one
43 dwelling unit up to four hundred dollars per dwelling unit tested, from
44 the taxes imposed by sections fourteen hundred two and fourteen hundred
45 two-a of the tax law.
46 2. Any provision in a purchase offer, contract of sale, lease, offer
47 to lease, or any other document related to the transfer of an interest
48 in real property that purports to waive any right created under state or
49 federal law for the purchaser, tenant, or transferee to conduct a risk
50 assessment or inspection of the property to determine the presence of
51 lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards, or any oral agreement
52 that purports to waive such right, is null and void as against public
53 policy, notwithstanding that such waivers might otherwise be permitted
54 by federal law.
55 § 9. Section 210-B of the tax law is amended by adding a new subdivi-
56 sion 60 to read as follows:
S. 7406 24
1 60. Lead hazard reduction tax credit. (a) Tax credit for activities
2 resulting in lead-free or lead-contained status. A taxpayer shall be
3 allowed a credit against tax imposed by this article for activities
4 necessary to bring any affected property into lead-free or lead-con-
5 tained status within the meaning of sections thirteen hundred seventy
6 and thirteen hundred seventy-six of the public health law, provided that
7 the taxpayer complies with the documentation requirements of paragraph
8 (d) of this subdivision.
9 (b) Tax credit for multiple dwelling units located within munici-
10 palities of more than one million inhabitants. A taxpayer also shall be
11 eligible for the tax credit under paragraph (a) of this subdivision if a
12 dwelling unit that satisfies all the requirements for an affected prop-
13 erty contained in subdivision two of section thirteen hundred seventy of
14 the public health law but such dwelling unit is located in a city with a
15 population of one million or more. In such case, the taxpayer must
16 comply with equivalent standards in local laws concerning lead hazards
17 that apply to multiple dwellings.
18 (c) Tax credits for certain renovations as part of achieving lead-sta-
19 bilized status. A taxpayer shall be allowed a credit against tax imposed
20 by this article for the costs of certain activities necessary to bring
21 any affected property into lead-stabilized status within the meaning of
22 section thirteen hundred seventy-six of the public health law, provided
23 that the expected useful life of such renovations is ten years or more
24 and the taxpayer complies with the documentation requirements of para-
25 graph (d) of this subdivision. The deputy commissioner of health shall
26 promulgate regulations defining those activities necessary to achieve
27 lead-stabilized status with an expected useful life of more than ten
28 years. Taxpayers who have completed renovations of habitable dwelling
29 units contained in multiple dwellings, as defined in section four of the
30 multiple dwelling law in a city of more than one million population also
31 shall be allowed a credit under this subdivision provided that the
32 taxpayer complies with similar standards in local laws concerning lead
33 hazards that apply to multiple dwellings.
34 (d) Documentation required for credit allowance. No credit shall be
35 allowed under paragraph (a), (b), or (c) of this subdivision unless the
36 taxpayer provides documentation to the deputy commissioner of health
37 that:
38 (1) the activities described above have been performed by a contractor
39 accredited pursuant to section thirteen hundred seventy-five of the
40 public health law;
41 (2) the affected property was constructed prior to nineteen hundred
42 seventy;
43 (3) the taxpayer has paid for the activities described above; and
44 (4) includes a written certification obtained by the taxpayer from an
45 inspector, accredited pursuant to section thirteen hundred seventy-five
46 of the public health law, that the activities described above have been
47 completed in accordance with all applicable requirements and that
48 either:
49 (A) Where applicable, the affected property or property unit can now
50 be certified as either lead-free or lead-contained under section thir-
51 teen hundred seventy-six of the public health law; or
52 (B) Where applicable, the affected property has undergone renovations
53 that satisfy the requirements established by regulation by the deputy
54 commissioner of health as activities necessary to achieve lead-stabi-
55 lized status with an expected useful life of more than ten years.
S. 7406 25
1 (e) Amount of credit. The tax credit shall be equal to the amount
2 actually paid for the activities described in this subdivision up to a
3 maximum of three thousand dollars per affected property for a credit
4 allowed under either paragraph (a) or (b) of this subdivision or a maxi-
5 mum of one thousand five hundred dollars for a credit allowed under
6 paragraph (c) of this subdivision.
7 (f) Carry-over of credit. Any amount of tax credit not used in the
8 taxable year of certification may be carried forward and applied to the
9 corporation's tax liability for any one or more of the succeeding five
10 taxable years. The credit may not be applied until all other credits
11 available to the taxpayer for that taxable year have been applied.
12 § 10. Section 606 of the tax law is amended by adding a new subsection
13 (bbb) to read as follows:
14 (bbb) Lead-hazard reduction in housing tax credit. (1) Allowance of
15 credit for activities resulting in lead-free or lead-contained status. A
16 taxpayer shall be allowed a credit as provided in this subsection for
17 activities necessary to bring any affected property into lead-free or
18 lead-contained status within the meaning of sections thirteen hundred
19 seventy and thirteen hundred seventy-six of the public health law,
20 provided that the taxpayer complies with the documentation requirements
21 of paragraph four of this subsection.
22 (2) Tax credit for multiple dwelling units located within munici-
23 palities of more than one million inhabitants. A taxpayer also shall be
24 eligible for the tax credit under paragraph one of this subsection if a
25 dwelling unit that satisfies all the requirements for an affected prop-
26 erty contained in subdivision two of section thirteen hundred seventy of
27 the public health law but such dwelling unit is located in a city with a
28 population of one million or more. In such case, the taxpayer must
29 comply with equivalent standards in local laws concerning lead hazards
30 that apply to multiple dwellings.
31 (3) Tax credits for certain renovations as part of achieving lead-sta-
32 bilized status. A taxpayer shall be allowed a credit against tax imposed
33 by this article for the costs of certain activities necessary to bring
34 any affected property into lead-stabilized status within the meaning of
35 section thirteen hundred seventy-six of the public health law, provided
36 that the expected useful life of such renovations is ten years or more
37 and the taxpayer complies with the documentation requirements of para-
38 graph four of this subsection. The deputy commissioner of health shall
39 promulgate regulations defining those activities necessary to achieve
40 lead-stabilized status with an expected useful life of more than ten
41 years. Taxpayers who have completed renovations of habitable dwelling
42 units contained in multiple dwellings, as defined in section four of the
43 multiple dwelling law in a city of more than one million population also
44 shall be allowed a credit under this paragraph provided that the taxpay-
45 er complies with similar standards in local laws concerning lead hazards
46 that apply to multiple dwellings.
47 (4) Documentation required for credit allowance. No credit shall be
48 allowed under paragraph one, two or three of this subsection unless the
49 taxpayer provides documentation to the deputy commissioner of health
50 that:
51 (A) the activities described above have been performed by a contractor
52 accredited pursuant to section thirteen hundred seventy-five of the
53 public health law;
54 (B) the affected property was constructed prior to nineteen hundred
55 seventy;
56 (C) the taxpayer has paid for the activities described above; and
S. 7406 26
1 (D) includes a written certification obtained by the taxpayer from an
2 inspector, accredited pursuant to section thirteen hundred seventy-five
3 of the public health law, that the activities described above have been
4 completed in accordance with all applicable requirements and that
5 either:
6 (i) Where applicable, the affected property can now be certified as
7 either lead-free or lead-contained under section thirteen hundred seven-
8 ty-six of the public health law; or
9 (ii) Where applicable, the affected property has undergone renovations
10 that satisfy the requirements established by regulation by the deputy
11 commissioner of health as activities necessary to achieve lead-stabi-
12 lized status with an expected useful life of more than ten years.
13 (5) The tax credit pursuant to this subsection shall be available to
14 someone who owns and occupies his or her own dwelling unit in the same
15 manner and to the same extent as it is available to the owner of an
16 affected property who leases the premises.
17 (6) Amount of credit. The tax credit shall be equal to the amount
18 actually paid for the activities described in this subsection up to a
19 maximum of three thousand dollars per affected property for a credit
20 allowed under either paragraph one or two of this subsection or a maxi-
21 mum of one thousand five hundred dollars for a credit allowed under
22 paragraph three of this subsection.
23 (7) Application of credit. Any amount of tax credit not used in the
24 taxable year of certification may be carried forward and applied to the
25 individual's tax liability for any one or more of the succeeding five
26 taxable years. The credit may not be applied until all other credits
27 available to the taxpayer for that taxable year have been applied.
28 § 11. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 99-rr
29 to read as follows:
30 § 99-rr. Residential property lead-based paint hazard abatement
31 revolving loan fund. 1. There is created, as a separate fund within the
32 general fund, a fund to be known as the residential property lead-based
33 paint hazard abatement revolving loan fund. Such fund shall consist of
34 proceeds received from the sale of bonds pursuant to subdivision two of
35 this section, and any sums that the state may from time to time deem
36 appropriate, as well as donations, gifts, bequests, or otherwise from
37 any public or private source, which money is intended to assist owners
38 of residential properties in meeting the standards for either lead-free
39 or lead-contained certification pursuant to section thirteen hundred
40 seventy-six of the public health law, or, for multiple dwellings in
41 cities of one million population or more, compliance with local laws
42 concerning the control of lead-based paint hazards in such multiple
43 dwellings.
44 2. The state shall issue bonds in an amount specified for the purpose
45 of funding the residential property lead-based paint hazard abatement
46 revolving loan fund.
47 (a) Any bonds issued or to be issued pursuant to this subdivision
48 shall be subject to all the requirements and conditions established by
49 the state for the sale of bonds.
50 (b) The interest rate and other terms upon which bonds are issued
51 pursuant to this subdivision shall not create a prospective obligation
52 of the state of New York in excess of the amount of revenues that can
53 reasonably be expected from the loan repayments, interest on such loans,
54 and fees that the state of New York can reasonably expect to charge
55 under the provisions of title ten of article thirteen of the public
56 health law.
S. 7406 27
1 (c) All money received from the sale of bonds shall be deposited into
2 the residential property lead-based paint hazard abatement revolving
3 loan fund.
4 3. The comptroller shall contract for the administration and disburse-
5 ment of funding. The deputy commissioner of health shall adopt rules and
6 regulations which provide for the orderly and equitable disbursement and
7 repayment of funds.
8 4. Funds placed in the residential property lead-based paint hazard
9 abatement revolving loan fund shall be made available, at the discretion
10 of the deputy commissioner of health, to the owners of affected proper-
11 ties including those located within municipalities of more than one
12 million inhabitants, and to non-profit organizations for the purpose of
13 bringing affected properties into compliance with the standards for
14 lead-free, lead-contained, or lead-stabilized property status as speci-
15 fied by section thirteen hundred seventy-six of the public health law,
16 or, for multiple dwellings in cities with a population of one million or
17 more, compliance with local laws concerning the control of lead-based
18 paint hazards in such multiple dwellings. An owner of a pre-nineteen
19 hundred seventy property who owns and occupies the dwelling unit shall
20 be eligible for loans under this section in the same manner, and to the
21 same extent, as an owner of an affected property.
22 5. Loans made available under the provisions of this section may be
23 made directly, or in cooperation with other public and private lenders,
24 or any agency, department, or bureau of the federal government or the
25 state.
26 6. The proceeds from the repayment of any loans made for that purpose
27 shall be deposited in and returned to the residential property lead-
28 based paint hazard abatement revolving loan fund to constitute a contin-
29 uing revolving fund for the purposes provided in this section.
30 7. The deputy commissioner of housing and community renewal shall take
31 any action necessary to obtain federal assistance for lead hazard
32 reduction to be used in conjunction with the residential property lead-
33 based paint hazard abatement revolving loan fund.
34 § 12. Paragraph a of subdivision 2 of section 302-a of the multiple
35 dwelling law, as added by chapter 911 of the laws of 1965, is amended to
36 read as follows:
37 a. A "rent impairing" violation within the meaning of this section
38 shall designate a condition in a multiple dwelling which, in the opinion
39 of the department, constitutes, or if not promptly corrected, will
40 constitute, a fire hazard, a lead-based paint hazard within the meaning
41 of subdivision twenty-seven of section thirteen hundred seventy of the
42 public health law, or a serious threat to the life, health or safety of
43 occupants thereof.
44 § 13. Paragraph a of subdivision 2 of section 305-a of the multiple
45 residence law, as added by chapter 291 of the laws of 1966, is amended
46 to read as follows:
47 a. A "rent impairing" violation within the meaning of this section
48 shall designate a condition in a multiple dwelling which, in the opinion
49 of the state building code council, constitutes, or if not promptly
50 corrected, will constitute, a fire hazard, a lead-based paint hazard
51 within the meaning of subdivision twenty-seven of section thirteen
52 hundred seventy of the public health law, or a serious threat to the
53 life, health or safety of occupants thereof.
54 § 14. The social services law is amended by adding a new section 131-y
55 to read as follows:
S. 7406 28
1 § 131-y. Supplemental shelter allowance. Every public welfare official
2 shall pay, in addition to the shelter allowance components established
3 by the department pursuant to section one hundred thirty-one-a of this
4 title, a supplemental shelter allowance for units for which the owner
5 has submitted documentation certifying that the dwelling unit is in
6 compliance with subdivision seven of section one hundred forty-three-b
7 of this title. This monthly lead-safe housing supplement shall be in the
8 amount of fifty dollars for efficiency or one-bedroom units; one hundred
9 dollars for two-bedroom units; one hundred fifty dollars for three-bed-
10 room units; and two hundred dollars for units with four or more
11 bedrooms; or such higher amounts as the department may establish by
12 regulation as appropriate to induce landlords in high risk lead-paint
13 poisoning areas to voluntarily remove lead-paint hazards from their
14 units using lead-safe work practices. This supplemental shelter allow-
15 ance for lead-safe housing shall be paid for a period of twelve months
16 following the submission of the most recent certification of compliance
17 and shall be renewed for subsequent twelve month periods upon the
18 submission of further certifications of compliance based upon more
19 recent inspections.
20 § 15. Subdivision 2 of section 143-b of the social services law, as
21 added by chapter 997 of the laws of 1962, is amended and a new subdivi-
22 sion 7 is added to read as follows:
23 2. Every public welfare official shall have power to and [may] shall
24 withhold the payment of any such rent in any case where he has knowledge
25 that there exists or there is outstanding any violation of law in
26 respect to the building containing the housing accommodations occupied
27 by the person entitled to such assistance which is dangerous, hazardous
28 or detrimental to life or health. A report of each such violation shall
29 be made to the appropriate public welfare department by the appropriate
30 department or agency having jurisdiction over violations.
31 7. No state or local agency shall arrange to place a family consisting
32 of a person or persons under seven years of age or a known pregnant
33 woman in any dwelling unit constructed prior to nineteen hundred seven-
34 ty, or, in cities with a population of one million or more, any dwelling
35 unit constructed prior to nineteen hundred sixty, for which rent is paid
36 in any part with state funds unless such dwelling unit has been first
37 inspected by a person accredited pursuant to section thirteen hundred
38 seventy-five of the public health law, and determined to be free of
39 lead-based hazards, as defined by subdivision twenty-seven of section
40 thirteen hundred seventy of the public health law, and unless such agen-
41 cy has first obtained appropriate documentation acceptable to the
42 commissioner that such dwelling unit is in compliance with the require-
43 ments of section thirteen hundred seventy-six of the public health law,
44 or, for multiple dwellings in cities with a population of one million or
45 more, in compliance with local laws concerning the control of lead-based
46 paint hazards in such multiple dwellings. A written report shall be
47 prepared of any inspection performed pursuant to this subdivision and
48 shall be provided to the family.
49 § 16. Section 390-a of the social services law is amended by adding a
50 new subdivision 6 to read as follows:
51 6. No license or registration shall be issued to a child day care
52 center, a family day care home, or a group family day care home and no
53 such registration shall be renewed until it can be demonstrated that
54 those portions of the facility in which such child day care center,
55 family day care home, or group family day care home is located and those
56 portions of such facility that are readily accessible to children in
S. 7406 29
1 such child day care center, family day care home, or group family day
2 care home, meet the standards for lead-free property status, lead-con-
3 tained property status, or lead-stabilized property status set forth in
4 section thirteen hundred seventy-six of the public health law, or, for
5 multiple dwellings in cities with a population of one million or more,
6 with all local laws concerning the control of lead-based paint hazards
7 that apply to multiple dwelling units where children reside.
8 § 17. The insurance law is amended by adding a new section 3441 to
9 read as follows:
10 § 3441. Insurance coverage for lead poisoning. (a) For the purpose of
11 this section, the term "affected property" shall mean a room or group of
12 rooms within a property constructed before nineteen hundred seventy, or
13 constructed before nineteen hundred sixty in cities with a population of
14 one million or more, that form a single independent habitable dwelling
15 unit for occupation by one or more individuals that has living facili-
16 ties with permanent provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cooking,
17 and sanitation. "Affected property" shall not include:
18 (1) an area not used for living, sleeping, eating, cooking, or sanita-
19 tion, such as an unfinished basement, that is not readily accessible to
20 children under seven years of age;
21 (2) a unit within a hotel, motel, or similar seasonal or transient
22 facility unless such unit is occupied by one or more persons at risk
23 for a period exceeding thirty days;
24 (3) an area which is secured and inaccessible to occupants;
25 (4) housing for the elderly, or a residential property designated
26 exclusively for persons with disabilities; except this exemption shall
27 not apply if a person at risk resides or is expected to reside in the
28 dwelling unit or visits the dwelling unit on a regular basis; or
29 (5) an unoccupied dwelling unit or residential property that is to be
30 demolished, provided the dwelling unit or property will remain unoccu-
31 pied until demolition.
32 For the purpose of this section, the term "affected property" shall
33 not mean any property owned or operated by a unit of federal, state, or
34 local government, or any public, quasi-public, or municipal corporation,
35 but does include privately-owned properties that receive governmental
36 rental assistance.
37 (b) After fourteen months following the effective date of this
38 section, no insurer licensed or permitted by the department to provide
39 liability coverage to rental property owners shall exclude, except as
40 otherwise provided by this section, an affected property covered under a
41 policy coverage for losses or damages caused by exposure to lead-based
42 paint. The department shall not permit, authorize or approve any exclu-
43 sion for injury or damage resulting from exposure to lead-based paint,
44 except as specifically provided for in law, that was not in effect as of
45 the effective date of this section, and all previously approved exclu-
46 sions shall terminate on or before fourteen months following the effec-
47 tive date of this section.
48 (c) All insurers issuing liability insurance policies, including
49 commercial lines insurance policies, personal lines insurance policies,
50 and/or any other policies, covering affected properties shall offer
51 coverage for bodily injury caused by exposure to lead-based paint.
52 (d) Rates for the coverage specified in subsection (c) of this section
53 shall be approved by the superintendent using the following standards:
54 (1) Such rates must not be excessive, inadequate, or unfairly discri-
55 minatory; and
56 (2) In establishing such rates, consideration will be given to:
S. 7406 30
1 (A) Past and prospective loss experience;
2 (B) A reasonable margin for profits and contingencies;
3 (C) Past and prospective expenses;
4 (D) Such other data as the department may deem necessary;
5 (E) The past history of the owner with regard to lead poisoning or any
6 other liability or violations of ordinances or statutes relating to the
7 affected property or similar properties reasonably believed by the
8 insurer to be relevant; and
9 (F) Compliance with the requirements of either section thirteen
10 hundred seventy-six of the public health law or, for multiple dwellings
11 in cities with a population of one million or more, with all local laws
12 concerning the control of lead-based paint hazards in such multiple
13 dwellings.
14 (e) The department shall determine within two years following the
15 effective date of this section the availability in the state of liabil-
16 ity personal injury/bodily injury coverage described in subsection (b)
17 of this section, and may if such coverage is not generally available,
18 establish a market assistance plan or take other measures to assure the
19 availability of such coverage that offers a liability limit which is at
20 least three hundred thousand dollars or shall require that such coverage
21 be made available through a joint underwriting plan.
22 (f) An owner may not assign liability nor require a tenant to limit or
23 waive liability and any such limit or waiver shall be void as contrary
24 to the public policy of New York state.
25 (g) The superintendent shall, within twelve months after the effective
26 date of this section:
27 (1) Adopt rules for and issue an advisory bulletin to all state
28 licensed, admitted insurers providing liability coverage for property
29 owners regarding their responsibilities under this section; and
30 (2) Adopt rules for and issue an advisory bulletin to all state
31 licensed insurance agents and brokers outlining the provisions of this
32 section and the new requirements for state licensed, admitted insurers.
33 § 18. This act shall take effect immediately.
