| 1 | 1 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . No. 4415 |
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| 2 | 2 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 3 | 3 | | ________________________________________ |
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| 4 | 4 | | HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, February 26, 2024. |
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| 5 | 5 | | The committee on Education, to whom was referred the petition |
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| 6 | 6 | | (accompanied by bill, House, No. 427) of Brian M. Ashe and others |
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| 7 | 7 | | relative to the establishment of a school carbon monoxide safety trust fund |
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| 8 | 8 | | to be administered by the Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary |
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| 9 | 9 | | Education, reports recommending that the accompanying bill (House, No. |
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| 10 | 10 | | 4415) ought to pass. |
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| 11 | 11 | | For the committee, |
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| 12 | 12 | | DENISE C. GARLICK. 1 of 2 |
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| 13 | 13 | | FILED ON: 2/5/2024 |
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| 14 | 14 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4415 |
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| 15 | 15 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 16 | 16 | | _______________ |
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| 17 | 17 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court |
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| 18 | 18 | | (2023-2024) |
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| 19 | 19 | | _______________ |
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| 20 | 20 | | An Act relative to air quality in public schools. |
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| 21 | 21 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 22 | 22 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 23 | 23 | | 1 SECTION 1. (a) There shall be an interagency task force to review and investigate indoor |
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| 24 | 24 | | 2air quality in public school buildings that provide education for children in kindergarten through |
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| 25 | 25 | | 3grade 12. |
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| 26 | 26 | | 4 (b) The task force shall consist of the following 17 members or their designees: the |
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| 27 | 27 | | 5commissioner of elementary and secondary education, who shall serve as co-chair; the |
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| 28 | 28 | | 6commissioner of public health, who shall serve as co-chair; the executive director of the |
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| 29 | 29 | | 7Massachusetts school building authority; the director of the department of labor standards; the |
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| 30 | 30 | | 8commissioner of the department of environmental protection; the state fire marshal; 1 member |
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| 31 | 31 | | 9appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives; 1 member appointed by the minority |
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| 32 | 32 | | 10leader of the house of representatives; 1 member appointed by the senate president; 1 member |
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| 33 | 33 | | 11appointed by the minority leader of the senate; 1 member appointed by the governor who is an |
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| 34 | 34 | | 12expert in the field of environmental health and indoor air quality; and 1 member to be appointed |
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| 35 | 35 | | 13by each of the following organizations: the Massachusetts Association of School Committees, |
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| 36 | 36 | | 14Inc., the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents, Inc., the Massachusetts Teachers 2 of 2 |
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| 37 | 37 | | 15Association, the American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts the Massachusetts Coalition |
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| 38 | 38 | | 16for Occupational Safety and Health, and the Massachusetts School Nurses Organization. |
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| 39 | 39 | | 17 (c) The task force shall investigate indicators of indoor air quality in public school |
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| 40 | 40 | | 18buildings and ways to ensure adequate indoor air quality in such school buildings, including but |
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| 41 | 41 | | 19not limited to: (i) an assessment of carbon monoxide detection systems within each public school |
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| 42 | 42 | | 20building and each school’s compliance with subsection (a½) of section 26F½ of chapter 148 of |
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| 43 | 43 | | 21the General Laws; (ii) best practices for the placement and installation of carbon monoxide |
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| 44 | 44 | | 22detection systems in public school buildings; (iii) the status of carbon dioxide levels in public |
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| 45 | 45 | | 23school buildings according to data collected from existing carbon dioxide monitoring systems in |
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| 46 | 46 | | 24public school buildings; (iv) the necessity and feasibility of installing carbon dioxide monitoring |
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| 47 | 47 | | 25systems in all public school buildings and collecting data from such systems; (v) the temporary |
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| 48 | 48 | | 26or ongoing use of equipment necessary to ensure adequate air filtration and ventilation within |
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| 49 | 49 | | 27public school buildings; (vi) the regulation of minimum and maximum allowable air |
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| 50 | 50 | | 28temperatures and relative humidity, as well as any relevant statistics on the number of air- |
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| 51 | 51 | | 29conditioned public schools; (vii) an evaluation of the grants distributed pursuant to 1599-2055 of |
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| 52 | 52 | | 30section 2A of chapter 102 of the acts of 2021; and (viii) the cost, including labor costs, of |
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| 53 | 53 | | 31implementing any recommendations. |
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| 54 | 54 | | 32 (d) Not later than October 1, 2025, the task force shall file a report on its findings, |
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| 55 | 55 | | 33including any analysis, recommendations, or proposed legislation, with the clerks of the senate |
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| 56 | 56 | | 34and house of representatives and the chairs of the joint committee on education. |
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