85R13190 AJZ-F
By: Collier H.B. No. 2395
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to testing for lead contamination in public school
drinking water.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 341, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Sections 341.0317 and 341.0318 to read as
follows:
Sec. 341.0317. REQUIRED TESTING FOR LEAD CONTAMINATION IN
PUBLIC SCHOOL DRINKING WATER. (a) In this section:
(1) "First-draw tap test" means a water sample
collected and tested in the manner prescribed by the federal
monitoring requirements for lead and copper in tap water under 40
C.F.R. Section 141.86.
(2) "Open-enrollment charter school" means a school
that has been granted a charter under Subchapter D, Chapter 12,
Education Code.
(3) "Safe Drinking Water Act" means the federal Safe
Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. Section 300f et seq.).
(4) "School district" means any independent school
district.
(b) In addition to any water test required by the Safe
Drinking Water Act, each school district and open-enrollment
charter school shall conduct annual first-draw tap tests of potable
water systems to monitor the amount of lead in the water in each
occupied school building under the jurisdiction of the school
district or open-enrollment charter school. The school district or
open-enrollment charter school shall select a third party to
perform the first-draw tap test as required by this section.
(c) If a person conducting a first-draw tap test determines
that the amount of lead in the potable water system of a school
building exceeds the level of lead considered safe for human
consumption as established by rules adopted under Subsection (e),
the affected school district or open-enrollment charter school
shall:
(1) continue weekly first-draw tap tests of the
building's potable water system under this section until three
consecutive weekly tests confirm the water is safe for human
consumption; and
(2) provide the occupants of the building with an
adequate supply of safe, potable drinking water until future tests
indicate lead levels in the water are safe for human consumption.
(d) A school district or open-enrollment charter school is
not required to conduct a first-draw tap test under this section in
a school building that is lead-free, as defined by the Safe Drinking
Water Act (42 U.S.C. Section 300g-6).
(e) The executive commissioner, in consultation with the
commissioner of education, shall adopt rules to implement this
section, including rules to establish the level of lead in drinking
water that is considered safe for human consumption. The rules
adopted under this section must be consistent with the requirements
for school districts or open-enrollment charter schools that are
classified as a public water system under the Safe Drinking Water
Act.
Sec. 341.0318. RESULTS OF TESTING FOR LEAD CONTAMINATION IN
PUBLIC SCHOOL DRINKING WATER; REPORT. (a) In this section,
"first-draw tap test," "open-enrollment charter school," and
"school district" have the meanings assigned by Section 341.0317.
(b) Each school district and open-enrollment charter school
that conducts lead testing under Section 341.0317 shall make the
test results and any lead remediation plan available to the public
by:
(1) posting the information on the Internet website of
the school district or open-enrollment charter school; and
(2) any other method the school district or
open-enrollment charter school considers appropriate.
(c) Each school district and open-enrollment charter school
shall submit the information described by Subsection (b), in a
format approved by the executive commissioner, to:
(1) the executive commissioner; and
(2) each local health authority with jurisdiction in
the municipality or county in which the school district or
open-enrollment charter school is located.
(d) Not later than December 1 of each even-numbered year,
the executive commissioner shall submit to the governor, the
lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of representatives,
and each member of the legislature a report that includes the
findings from the first-draw tap tests conducted under Section
341.0317.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.