Bill Text: NJ A4121 | 2018-2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires DOE and DCF to establish online reporting systems for schools and child care centers to report lead testing results.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 12-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2018-06-25 - Received in the Senate, Referred to Senate Education Committee [A4121 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2018-A4121-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman NANCY J. PINKIN
District 18 (Middlesex)
Assemblywoman ELIANA PINTOR MARIN
District 29 (Essex)
SYNOPSIS
Requires DOE and DCF to establish online reporting systems for schools and child care centers to report lead testing results.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning lead in drinking water at schools and child care centers and supplementing Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes and P.L.1983, c.492 (C.30:5B-1 et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. Within one year after the effective date of this act, the Department of Education shall establish an online reporting system that allows a school to submit the results of any tests it has conducted for lead in drinking water and other related information to the department electronically.
b. Within 90 days after the establishment of the online reporting system pursuant to subsection a. of this section, any school that was required by law, rule, or regulation, on or after July 1, 2016, to test its drinking water for lead shall submit or resubmit its test results and other required information to the department via the online reporting system. The department shall compile the test results and other relevant information on its Internet website for access by the public in an easily-searchable format.
2. a. Within one year after the effective date of this act, the Department of Children and Families shall establish an online reporting system that allows a child care center to submit the results of any tests it has conducted for lead in drinking water and other related information to the department electronically.
b. Within 90 days after the establishment of the online reporting system pursuant to subsection a. of this section, any child care center that was required by law, rule, or regulation, on or after January 1, 2017, to test its drinking water for lead shall submit or resubmit its test results and any other required information to the department via the online reporting system. The department shall compile the test results and other relevant information on its Internet website for access by the public in an easily-searchable format.
3. Within two years after the effective date of this act, the Department of Education and the Department of Children and Families, in consultation with the Department of Environmental Protection, shall prepare and submit a report to the Governor and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), the Legislature, outlining the extent of lead contamination in the drinking water of schools and child care centers, the associated need for assistance with remediation activities, and recommendations for how the State could assist schools and childcare centers with remediating lead in drinking water. The Department of Education and the Department of Children and Families shall post the report on their respective Internet websites.
4. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would require the Department of Education (DOE) and the Department of Children and Families (DCF) to establish online reporting systems for schools and child care centers to report lead testing results.
In July 2016, the State Board of Education adopted regulations requiring every school in the State to test for lead in drinking water. Shortly thereafter, in January 2017, the Department of Children and Families adopted regulations requiring each child care facility in the State to test for lead in drinking water. While lead test results were required to be submitted to the respective departments and made available to children and parents, there is currently no centralized database for, or report on, this data available to the public and policy makers. Such a centralized database would allow policy makers and the public to better understand the extent of lead contamination in schools and child care centers in the State and allow policy makers to do the necessary analysis to effectuate remedial funding and technical assistance.
This bill would require the DOE and the DCF to establish online reporting systems for schools and childcare centers to report their lead testing results electronically. Under the bill, within 90 days after establishment of the databases, each school and childcare center that was required pursuant to law or regulation to test for lead would be required to submit or resubmit its test results and any other required information via the online reporting system. The DOE and DCF would be required to compile the test results on their respective Internet websites for access by the public. Finally, the bill would require both departments to prepare and submit a report to the Governor and the Legislature outlining the extent of lead contamination in the drinking water of schools and child care centers, the associated need for assistance with remediation activities, and recommendations for how the State can assist schools and child care centers with remediating lead in drinking water.
This bill stems from recommendations in the Joint Legislative Task Force on Drinking Water Infrastructure's final report, released in January 2018.
