What This Bill Does
This bill requires the Department of Housing and Urban Development to check rental properties that receive government housing assistance for lead hazards every year. The bill focuses on protecting children under 6 years old from lead-based paint and lead in water pipes.
Who It Affects
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (the federal agency that manages housing programs), owners of rental properties receiving government assistance, families living in those rental properties, and children under 6 years old living in covered housing.
Key Provisions
• The Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Multifamily Housing Programs must conduct an annual risk assessment starting within one year of the law being passed to identify properties with the greatest risk of exposing children under 6 to lead hazards like lead-based paint and lead service lines (Sec. 2(b)(1))
• The Department must develop an action plan for fixing, controlling and managing lead hazards in the properties identified, with priority given to properties where children under 6 live (Sec. 2(b)(2))
• The Department must submit a yearly report to Congress about properties with lead-based paint or lead service lines, including how many children under 6 live in those properties (Sec. 2(b)(3))
• Lead-based paint and lead service lines must be included as serious health and safety problems in regular property inspections to ensure property owners fix these issues (Sec. 2(c))
What Changes
Rental properties receiving government housing assistance will now be required to undergo annual lead hazard assessments and have lead problems tracked and reported to Congress.
Important Definitions
"Covered housing" means apartment units receiving rental assistance from the government under Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937.
Effective Date
Not specified in bill text (though the bill states the annual risk assessment must begin not later than one year after the bill becomes law).
II
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
S. 577
To require the Department of Housing and Urban Development to conduct
an annual risk assessment of properties receiving tenant-based or project-
based rental assistance for lead-based hazards, and for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
MARCH 1, 2023
Mr. RUBIO (for himself and Mr. WARNOCK) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Hous-
ing, and Urban Affairs
A BILL
To require the Department of Housing and Urban Develop-
ment to conduct an annual risk assessment of properties
receiving tenant-based or project-based rental assistance
for lead-based hazards, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
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This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Keep Children and
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Families Safe from Lead Hazards Act of 2023’’.
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SEC. 2. LEAD-BASED PAINT.
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(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section—
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•S 577 IS
(1) the term ‘‘covered housing’’ means a dwell-
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ing unit receiving project-based rental assistance or
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tenant-based rental assistance under section 8 of the
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United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C.
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1437f); and
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(2) the term ‘‘Department’’ means the Depart-
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ment of Housing and Urban Development.
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(b) ANNUAL RISK ASSESSMENT AND REPORT.—Not
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later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act,
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and every year thereafter, the Deputy Assistant Secretary
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for the Office of Multifamily Housing Programs of the De-
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partment, in collaboration with the Office of Lead Hazard
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Control and Healthy Homes of the Department, shall—
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(1) conduct a risk assessment of covered hous-
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ing to identify properties with the greatest risk of
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exposing children under the age of 6 years old to
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lead hazards, including lead-based paint and lead
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service lines;
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(2) develop an action plan relating to remedi-
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ation, control, and safeguards to address lead haz-
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ards, including lead-based paint and lead-service
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lines, in covered housing identified in the risk as-
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sessment conducted under paragraph (1), with pri-
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ority given to those properties with children under
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the age of 6 years old; and
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•S 577 IS
(3) submit to Congress a report on properties
1
with covered housing that have lead-based paint or
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lead service lines, including the number of children
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under the age of 6 years old living at these prop-
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erties.
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(c) UNIFORM PHYSICAL CONDITION STANDARD IN-
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SPECTIONS.—In conducting uniform physical condition in-
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spections in accordance with part 5 of title 24, Code of
8
Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation, the Sec-
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retary shall include lead-based paint and lead service lines
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in the graded scoring as an exigent health and safety defi-
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ciency to ensure that—
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(1) lead-based paint and lead service lines are
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tracked at each applicable property; and
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(2) the owners of those properties are held ac-
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countable for remediating deficiencies.
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Æ
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