88S30099 BDP-D
By: Gervin-Hawkins H.B. No. 42
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the adoption of a healthy and safe school water plan by
public schools.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 38, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 38.041 to read as follows:
Sec. 38.041. HEALTHY AND SAFE SCHOOL WATER PLAN. (a) In
this section:
(1) "Actionable lead level" means a hazardous,
actionable concentration of lead in water, as determined by the
commission.
(2) "Commission" means the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality.
(3) "Community water system" means a public water
system that supplies water to the same population year-round.
(4) "Water source" means any running water tap that is
used for drinking or food preparation.
(b) Each school district shall adopt a healthy and safe
school water plan in accordance with rules adopted by the agency
under Subsection (c) and with rules adopted by the commission under
Subsection (d). The plan must include provisions for:
(1) periodic testing for lead in school water sources
by a community water system; and
(2) reducing exposure to elevated levels of lead in
school water sources.
(c) The agency, in consultation with the commission, shall
adopt rules to provide guidance to school districts on the adoption
of a healthy and safe school water plan under this section. In
providing guidance to districts under this section, the agency must
provide procedures for:
(1) collaboration with community water systems to
conduct directed public education and lead monitoring at the school
district campuses the community water systems service; and
(2) the manner in which a school district:
(A) must comply with Subsection (f); and
(B) may be reimbursed under Subsection (i).
(d) The commission shall adopt rules in accordance with 40
C.F.R. Part 141 to provide guidance to community water systems and
school districts regarding:
(1) sampling and testing for lead in school water
sources;
(2) the minimum lead concentration determined by the
commission to be an actionable lead level;
(3) the procedure for disabling a water source with an
actionable lead level, as determined by the commission; and
(4) the means by which a community water system or
school district may reduce lead in school water sources, including
by installing filters and replacing fixtures and water lines.
(e) Each community water system, in accordance with
commission rules adopted under Subsection (d), shall:
(1) designate an employee to act as the point of
contact between the commission and school districts served by the
community water system;
(2) contact school districts served by the community
water system, if applicable, to coordinate water source testing in
the district;
(3) test each water source in school districts served
by the community water system for the presence of lead;
(4) maintain records for each water source in each
school district served by the community water system, including:
(A) the location of the water source; and
(B) the date and results of each test conducted
under Subdivision (3) for lead in the water source; and
(5) submit a copy of the records described by
Subdivision (4):
(A) to the commission not less than once every
four years; and
(B) to the school district once the testing of a
district campus water source has been completed.
(f) In the manner prescribed by the rules adopted by the
agency under Subsection (c), each school district shall:
(1) designate an employee to act as the point of
contact for the commission, the community water system, and the
public regarding testing for lead in school water sources;
(2) publish the information described by Subsection
(e)(5) on each district campus's Internet website not later than
the fifth business day after the date the district receives the
information;
(3) notify the parent or legal guardian of each
student enrolled in the district and each district employee of the
results of each test conducted under Subsection (e)(3); and
(4) maintain a copy of the records submitted to the
district by the community water system under Subsection (e)(5).
(g) In the event that a school water source is determined by
the commission to have an actionable lead level, the school
district shall:
(1) restrict access to the water source not later than
48 hours after learning the results under Subsection (e)(5); and
(2) continue to restrict access to the water source
until a subsequent test, conducted after appropriate lead abatement
efforts are made, indicates the lead concentration at the source to
be below the actionable lead level.
(h) A school district may elect to perform the duties
imposed on a community water system under Subsection (e)
independently of and without assistance from the community water
system.
(i) To the extent that state and federal funds, including
funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Pub. L.
No. 117-58) and the Water Resources Development Act of 2016 (Pub. L.
No. 114-322, Title I, 130 Stat. 1632), are available to the agency
for the purpose, the agency in coordination with the commission
shall develop a grant program under which the agency reimburses a
school district or a community water system for taking the
following actions related to water sources in the district or a
district served by the community water system, as applicable:
(1) testing lead concentrations;
(2) mitigating contamination through lead abatement
efforts, including:
(A) identifying the source of the contamination;
(B) installing filtration systems; and
(C) temporarily replacing the water source with
bottled water or water from another source; and
(3) replacing affected fixtures.
SECTION 2. Not later than September 1, 2024, each school
district and open-enrollment charter school shall adopt a healthy
and safe school water plan as required by Section 38.041, Education
Code, as added by this Act, and Section 12.104(b)(3)(K), Education
Code, as applicable.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect on the 91st day after the last day of the
legislative session.