78R3586 JRD-D
By: Naishtat H.B. No. 473
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to indoor air quality in public school buildings.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 385, Health and Safety Code, is amended
to read as follows:
CHAPTER 385. INDOOR AIR QUALITY IN GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS
SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 385.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Air contaminant" means a gaseous, liquid, or
solid substance or combination of substances that is in a form that
is transported by or in air and has the potential to be detrimental
to human health.
(2) "Board" means the Texas Board of Health.
(3) "Department" means the Texas Department of Health.
(4) "Government building" means a building that is:
(A) owned, or leased for a term of at least three
months, by a state governmental entity or by a political
subdivision of this state, including a county, municipality,
special purpose district, or school district; and
(B) regularly open to members of the public or
used by the state or local governmental entity for a purpose that
involves regular occupancy of the building by an employee or by a
person in the custody or control of the governmental entity such as
a public school student.
(5) [(4)] "Indoor air pollution" means the presence,
in an indoor environment, of one or more air contaminants in
sufficient concentration and of sufficient duration to be capable
of causing adverse effects to human health.
(6) "Public school" means a building owned by a public
school district or leased by a public school district for a period
of three months or longer that is used by the district for a purpose
that involves regular occupancy of the building by students.
Sec. 385.002. RULES. The board may adopt rules necessary
to implement this chapter.
[Sections 385.003-385.050 reserved for expansion]
SUBCHAPTER B. GUIDELINES
Sec. 385.051. POWERS AND DUTIES OF BOARD. (a) The board by
rule shall establish voluntary guidelines for indoor air quality in
government buildings, including guidelines for ventilation and
indoor air pollution control systems. [The board may adopt other
rules necessary to implement this chapter.]
(b) In establishing [the] guidelines under this section,
the board shall consider:
(1) the potential chronic effects of air contaminants
on human health;
(2) the potential effects of insufficient ventilation
of the indoor environment on human health;
(3) the potential costs of health care for the
short-term and long-term effects on human health that may result
from exposure to indoor air contaminants; and
(4) the potential costs of compliance with a proposed
guideline.
(c) A guideline adopted under this section [chapter] may
include a contaminant concentration, a control method, a sampling
method, a ventilation rate, design, or procedure, or a similar
recommendation.
(d) The board's guidelines may differ for different
pollution sources or different areas of the state and may differ for
buildings that are regularly occupied or visited by children.
(e) The board by rule shall establish mandatory guidelines
for indoor air quality in a public school for which construction or
a substantial renovation of the school begins after the date that
the board's mandatory guidelines for newly constructed or
substantially renovated schools are adopted and take effect.
Sec. 385.052 [385.003]. LIABILITY AND IMMUNITY. This
subchapter [chapter] does not create liability for:
(1) a governmental entity or a member of the governing
body of or an employee of a governmental entity for an injury caused
by the failure to comply with the voluntary guidelines established
under Section 385.051(a); or
(2) a school district, an employee of a school
district, or a member of a school board for an injury caused by the
failure to comply with the mandatory guidelines established under
Section 385.051(e) [385.002].
[Sections 385.053-385.100 reserved for expansion]
SUBCHAPTER C. SCHOOL BUILDING ASSESSMENT PROGRAM
Sec. 385.101. DUTIES OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS; PERIODIC
ASSESSMENTS OF INDOOR AIR QUALITY. (a-1) Not later than September
1, 2005, a school district shall assess the indoor air quality of
each public school in the district that is in use on September 1,
2003. This subsection does not apply to a school in use on
September 1, 2003, that will not be used as a public school after
September 1, 2005. This subsection also does not apply to a school
with respect to which the indoor air quality has been assessed for
the conditions described by Section 385.102(b) within the two-year
period preceding September 1, 2003, if the school district submits
documentation to the department showing the assessment was
adequately performed. This subsection expires September 2, 2005.
(a) A school district shall assess the indoor air quality of
a public school in the district:
(1) within 90 days after the completion of a newly
constructed school;
(2) within 90 days after an event that could
reasonably be expected to significantly affect the indoor air
quality in the school, such as a fire at the school, substantial
renovation of the school, or flooding of the school;
(3) when an assessment of the school is ordered by the
superintendent of the district under Subsection (b);
(4) soon after remedial action is taken to remedy a
problem found during an earlier assessment of indoor air quality at
the school; and
(5) not later than the fourth anniversary of the last
assessment of the indoor air quality of the school.
(b) If there are confirmed reports of illness among students
or staff at a public school that may reasonably be attributable to
the indoor air quality of the school, the school principal or health
care personnel employed by the school district shall report that
fact to the board of trustees and the superintendent of the
district. The superintendent shall consider the situation, consult
with health care professionals and other persons as necessary, and
order an assessment of the indoor air quality of the school if the
superintendent considers an assessment to be warranted.
(c) Any assessment of the indoor air quality of a public
school under this subchapter must be conducted during the school
year. This subsection does not prohibit conducting additional
assessments at other times if required by prudence or other law.
(d) The assessments shall be conducted using the criteria
established by the department under Section 385.102.
Sec. 385.102. DUTIES OF DEPARTMENT; CRITERIA FOR BUILDING
ASSESSMENTS. (a) The department shall establish by rule criteria
and checklists for assessing the indoor air quality of public
schools.
(b) The rules must include requirements for assessing the
indoor air quality of each school with respect to ambient
temperature, relative humidity, the adequacy of ventilation, and
the presence of:
(1) carbon monoxide;
(2) volatile organic compounds;
(3) formaldehyde;
(4) particulate matter;
(5) carbon dioxide; and
(6) molds.
(c) In establishing acceptable assessment methods or in
adding to the factors listed under Subsection (b), the department
shall consider the potential health effects and potential costs the
board is required to consider in adopting guidelines under Section
385.051.
Sec. 385.103. AVAILABILITY OF ASSESSMENT RESULTS. (a) Not
later than the 60th day after the date an assessment of indoor air
quality in a public school is completed, the school district shall
send the complete results of the assessment, in a format prescribed
by the department, to the department and to the campus-level
planning and decision-making committee established under Section
11.253, Education Code, for the affected public school.
(b) A school district on request shall promptly make
available to any member of the public the complete results of an
assessment of indoor air quality in a public school.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.