Share:
Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2021 - 2022
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | December 18, 2020 09:23 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator Judith L. Schwank and Sen. Katie J. Muth |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Lead Testing at Child Daycare Programs |
| In the near future Senator Muth and I will reintroduce SB 39 from the 2019-20 legislative session to require lead testing at child daycare programs. A 2014 state Department of Health study found that children in more than eighteen communities across the Commonwealth faced higher exposure to lead than those that had drawn national attention in Flint, Michigan. Among the communities identified were Allentown, Altoona, Bethlehem, Erie, Johnstown, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Reading, and Scranton. The dangers of historic lead use occur in paint, water, dust and soil in older homes and buildings across the state where many daycare programs operate. It is important to identity and address the potential lead issues in such circumstances because children, especially younger ones, face particular risks in their development. Our bill would require the Department of Human Services (DHS) to include lead testing of water, paint, soil and dust in the licensing process for child daycare programs. It would prohibit licensing of any child daycare program while lead levels exceeds those recommended by the federal Centers for Disease Control. Current licensees would be required to develop an approved remediation program. I hope you will join us in providing this protection for our children. |
Introduced as SB388