86R19865 MP-F
By: Collier H.B. No. 997
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 997:
By: Allen C.S.H.B. No. 997
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 A, Chapter 38, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 38.039 to read as follows:
Sec. 38.039. 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(b).
(2) "Safe Drinking Water Act" means the federal Safe
Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. Section 300f et seq.).
(b) In addition to any water test required by the Safe
Drinking Water Act, each school district and open-enrollment
charter school shall conduct first-draw tap tests of potable water
outlets every five years, before the start of the school year, to
monitor the amount of lead in the water in each occupied school
building under the jurisdiction of the district or school. The
district or school shall perform the first-draw tap test as
required by this section by using existing qualified personnel or
through a third party.
(c) If a person conducting a first-draw tap test determines
that the amount of lead in a potable water outlet of a school
building exceeds the level of lead considered safe for human
consumption as established by rules adopted under Subsection (h),
the affected school district or open-enrollment charter school
shall prevent the use of the potable water outlet until:
(1) the district or school implements a lead
remediation plan designed to lower the level of lead in the potable
water outlet; and
(2) tests confirm the water in the potable water
outlet is safe for human consumption.
(d) A school district or open-enrollment charter school is
not required to conduct a first-draw tap test on a water outlet
under this section if the outlet is located in a school building
that is lead free, as defined by the Safe Drinking Water Act (42
U.S.C. Section 300g-6).
(e) A school district or open-enrollment charter school is
not required to conduct the first-draw tap tests under this section
if the district or school has fewer than 1,000 students and is
unable to secure funding for the tests from grants or donations.
(f) Each school district and open-enrollment charter school
that conducts lead testing under this section shall make the test
results and any lead remediation plan available to the public by:
(1) posting the information on the district's or
school's Internet website; or
(2) any other method the district or school considers
appropriate.
(g) Each school district and open-enrollment charter school
shall:
(1) submit the information described by Subsection
(f), in a format approved by the agency, to each local health
authority with jurisdiction in the municipality or county in which
the district or school is located; and
(2) maintain a record of the information submitted
under Subdivision (1) for a period not less than 12 years from the
date the information was submitted.
(h) The commissioner, in consultation with the Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality, 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.
SECTION 2. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of
this section, this Act applies beginning with the 2020-2021 school
year.
(b) A school district or open-enrollment charter school
that has completed first-draw tap tests of potable water outlets
during the 36-month period preceding the effective date of this Act
shall comply with this Act beginning with the 2022-2023 school
year.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.