By Naishtat, Madden, Coleman                          H.B. No. 2008
         77R517 JRD-D                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to indoor air quality in buildings owned or leased by
 1-3     state or local government.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1. Chapter 385, Health and Safety Code, is amended to
 1-6     read as follows:
 1-7                CHAPTER 385. INDOOR AIR QUALITY IN GOVERNMENT
 1-8                         [SCHOOL DISTRICT] BUILDINGS
 1-9           Sec. 385.001.  DEFINITIONS.  In this chapter:
1-10                 (1)  "Air contaminant" means a gaseous, liquid, or
1-11     solid substance or combination of substances that is in a form that
1-12     is transported by or in air and has the potential to be detrimental
1-13     to human health.
1-14                 (2)  "Board" means the Texas Board of Health.
1-15                 (3)  "Government building" means a building that is:
1-16                       (A)  owned, or leased for a term of at least
1-17     three months, by a state governmental entity or by a political
1-18     subdivision of this state, including  a county, municipality,
1-19     special purpose district, or school district; and
1-20                       (B)  regularly open to members of the public or
1-21     used by the state or local governmental entity for a purpose that
1-22     involves regular occupancy of the building by an employee or by a
1-23     person in the custody or control of the governmental entity such as
1-24     a public school student.
 2-1                 (4)  "Indoor air pollution" means the presence, in an
 2-2     indoor environment, of one or more air contaminants in sufficient
 2-3     concentration and of sufficient duration to be capable of causing
 2-4     adverse effects to human health.
 2-5                 [(4)  "Public school" means a building owned by a
 2-6     public school district or leased by a public school district for
 2-7     three months or more that is used by the district for a purpose
 2-8     that involves regular occupancy of the building by students.]
 2-9           Sec. 385.002.  POWERS AND DUTIES OF BOARD. (a)  The board by
2-10     rule shall establish voluntary guidelines for indoor air quality in
2-11     government buildings [public schools], including guidelines for
2-12     ventilation and indoor air pollution control systems.  The board
2-13     may adopt other rules necessary to implement this chapter.
2-14           (b)  In establishing the guidelines, the board shall
2-15     consider:
2-16                 (1)  the potential chronic effects of air contaminants
2-17     on human health;
2-18                 (2)  the potential effects of insufficient ventilation
2-19     of the indoor environment on human health;
2-20                 (3)  the potential costs of health care for the
2-21     short-term and long-term effects on human health that may result
2-22     from exposure to indoor air contaminants; and
2-23                 (4)  the potential costs of compliance with a proposed
2-24     guideline.
2-25           (c)  A guideline adopted under this chapter may include a
2-26     contaminant concentration, a control method, a sampling method, a
2-27     ventilation rate, design, or procedure, or a similar
 3-1     recommendation.
 3-2           (d)  The board's guidelines may differ for different
 3-3     pollution sources or different areas of the state and may differ
 3-4     for buildings that are regularly occupied or visited by children.
 3-5           Sec. 385.003.  LIABILITY AND IMMUNITY.  This chapter does not
 3-6     create liability for a governmental entity [school board] for an
 3-7     injury caused by the failure to comply with the voluntary
 3-8     guidelines established under Section 385.002.
 3-9           SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.