1-1  By:  Naishtat, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Moncrief)     H.B. No. 2850
    1-2        (In the Senate - Received from the House May 15, 1995;
    1-3  May 18, 1995, read first time and referred to Committee on Health
    1-4  and Human Services; May 23, 1995, reported adversely, with
    1-5  favorable Committee Substitute by the following vote:  Yeas 5, Nays
    1-6  0; May 23, 1995, sent to printer.)
    1-7  COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 2850                By:  Moncrief
    1-8                         A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
    1-9                                AN ACT
   1-10  relating to the regulation of the indoor air quality of certain
   1-11  school district buildings.
   1-12        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
   1-13        SECTION 1.  Subtitle C, Title 5, Health and Safety Code, is
   1-14  amended by adding Chapter 385 to read as follows:
   1-15     CHAPTER 385.  INDOOR AIR QUALITY IN SCHOOL DISTRICT BUILDINGS
   1-16        Sec. 385.001.  DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
   1-17              (1)  "Air contaminant" means a gaseous, liquid, or
   1-18  solid substance or combination of substances that is in a form that
   1-19  is transported by or in air and has the potential to be detrimental
   1-20  to human health.
   1-21              (2)  "Board" means the Texas Board of Health.
   1-22              (3)  "Indoor air pollution" means the presence, in an
   1-23  indoor environment, of one or more air contaminants in sufficient
   1-24  concentration and of sufficient duration to be capable of causing
   1-25  adverse effects to human health.
   1-26              (4)  "Public school" means a building owned by a public
   1-27  school district or leased by a public school district for three
   1-28  months or more that is used by the district for a purpose that
   1-29  involves regular occupancy of the building by students.
   1-30        Sec. 385.002.  POWERS AND DUTIES OF BOARD.  (a)  The board by
   1-31  rule shall establish voluntary guidelines for indoor air quality in
   1-32  public schools, including guidelines for ventilation and indoor air
   1-33  pollution control systems.  The board may adopt other rules
   1-34  necessary to implement this chapter.
   1-35        (b)  In establishing the guidelines, the board shall
   1-36  consider:
   1-37              (1)  the potential chronic effects of air contaminants
   1-38  on human health;
   1-39              (2)  the potential effects of insufficient ventilation
   1-40  of the indoor environment on human health;
   1-41              (3)  the potential costs of health care for the
   1-42  short-term and long-term effects on human health that may result
   1-43  from exposure to indoor air contaminants; and
   1-44              (4)  the potential costs of compliance with a proposed
   1-45  guideline.
   1-46        (c)  A guideline adopted under this chapter may include a
   1-47  contaminant concentration, a control method, a sampling method, a
   1-48  ventilation rate, design, or procedure, or a similar
   1-49  recommendation.
   1-50        (d)  The board's guidelines may differ for different
   1-51  pollution sources or different areas of the state.
   1-52        Sec. 385.003.  LIABILITY AND IMMUNITY.  This chapter does not
   1-53  create liability for a school board for an injury caused by the
   1-54  failure to comply with the voluntary guidelines established under
   1-55  Section 385.002.
   1-56        SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
   1-57        SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the
   1-58  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
   1-59  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
   1-60  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
   1-61  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
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