87R230 MP-F
 
  By: Collier H.B. No. 303
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to testing for lead contamination in public school
  drinking water.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subchapter A, Chapter 38, Education Code, is
  amended by adding Section 38.037 to read as follows:
         Sec. 38.037.  REQUIRED TESTING FOR LEAD CONTAMINATION IN
  PUBLIC SCHOOL DRINKING WATER. (a) In this section:
               (1)  "First-draw tap test" means a water sample
  collected and tested in the manner prescribed by the federal
  monitoring requirements for lead and copper in tap water under 40
  C.F.R. Section 141.86(b).
               (2)  "Safe Drinking Water Act" means the federal Safe
  Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. Section 300f et seq.).
         (b)  In addition to any water test required by the Safe
  Drinking Water Act, each school district and open-enrollment
  charter school shall conduct first-draw tap tests of potable water
  outlets every five years, before the start of the school year, to
  monitor the amount of lead in the water in each occupied school
  building under the jurisdiction of the district or school. The
  district or school shall perform the first-draw tap test as
  required by this section by using existing qualified personnel or
  through a third party.
         (c)  If a person conducting a first-draw tap test determines
  that the amount of lead in a potable water outlet of a school
  building exceeds the level of lead considered safe for human
  consumption as established by rules adopted under Subsection (h),
  the affected school district or open-enrollment charter school
  shall prevent the use of the potable water outlet until:
               (1)  the district or school implements a lead
  remediation plan designed to lower the level of lead in the potable
  water outlet; and
               (2)  tests confirm the water in the potable water
  outlet is safe for human consumption.
         (d)  A school district or open-enrollment charter school is
  not required to conduct a first-draw tap test on a water outlet
  under this section if the outlet is located in a school building
  that is lead free, as defined by the Safe Drinking Water Act (42
  U.S.C. Section 300g-6).
         (e)  A school district or open-enrollment charter school is
  not required to conduct the first-draw tap tests under this section
  if the district or school has fewer than 1,000 students and is
  unable to secure funding for the tests from grants or donations.
         (f)  Each school district and open-enrollment charter school
  that conducts lead testing under this section shall make the test
  results and any lead remediation plan available to the public by:
               (1)  posting the information on the district's or
  school's Internet website; or
               (2)  any other method the district or school considers
  appropriate.
         (g)  Each school district and open-enrollment charter school
  shall:
               (1)  submit the information described by Subsection
  (f), in a format approved by the agency, to each local health
  authority with jurisdiction in the municipality or county in which
  the district or school is located; and
               (2)  maintain a record of the information submitted
  under Subdivision (1) for not less than 12 years from the date the
  information was submitted.
         (h)  The commissioner, in consultation with the Texas
  Commission on Environmental Quality, shall adopt rules to implement
  this section, including rules to establish the level of lead in
  drinking water that is considered safe for human consumption. The
  rules adopted under this section must be consistent with the
  requirements for school districts or open-enrollment charter
  schools that are classified as a public water system under the Safe
  Drinking Water Act.
         SECTION 2.  (a)  Except as provided by Subsection (b) of
  this section, this Act applies beginning with the 2022-2023 school
  year.
         (b)  A school district or open-enrollment charter school
  that has completed first-draw tap tests of potable water outlets
  during the 36-month period preceding the effective date of this Act
  shall comply with this Act beginning with the 2024-2025 school
  year.
         SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.