* WARNING: THIS IS AN UNOFFICIAL, INTRODUCTORY COPY OF THE BILL.
THE OFFICIAL COPY CONSIDERED BY THE CITY COUNCIL IS THE FIRST READER COPY.
INTRODUCTORY*
CITY OF BALTIMORE
COUNCIL BILL R
(Resolution)
Introduced by: President Rawlings-Blake
A RESOLUTION ENTITLED
A COUNCIL RESOLUTION concerning
Title
In Support of State Legislation - House Bill 1020 - Lead Poisoning Prevention Act of 2007
FOR the purpose of supporting this legislation that would require an applicant for a contractor license to meet a specified accreditation or training requirement under specified circumstances, require a licensee applying for a license renewal to submit to the Maryland Home Improvement Commission proof of compliance with specified lead training requirements, and prohibiting a licensee from violating specified lead paint abatement accreditation requirements; urging the Honorable Chair and Members of the House Environmental Matters Committee and the Honorable Chair and Members of the Baltimore City Delegation to the 2007 Maryland General Assembly to support passage of the legislation; and petitioning the Governor to sign the measure into law.
Body
Recitals
This legislation would require that owners of affected rental properties who failed to perform required lead-risk reduction pay for relocation expenses up to $2,500 to relocate tenants to lead certified housing. In addition, this legislation create a system for the penalization of non-compliant owners while also providing first month's rent, security deposit, and moving expenses that are often needed by tenants in order for them to relocate from hazardous rental housing. In addition to providing for the tenants of rental properties, House Bill 1020 expands the definition of "lead-safe housing" to include owner occupied dwellings, and specifies the criteria by which the unit could be considered lead safe.
Childhood lead poisoning is a major public health threat in Maryland, poisoning over 1,300 children in Maryland since 2005. Lead poisoning severely and irreversibly impacts the cognitive and physical development of young children. The Governor and the State have endorsed plans to meet the federal strategy to eliminate childhood lead poisoning by 2010, by creating programs and legislation that would not only remove lead paint from all residential buildings, but also provide for the mandatory education of those who are responsible for fixing and constructing the dwellings within which our children reside.
Children are exposed to lead through ingesting and inhaling lead dust, eating lead paint chips, or absorbing lead while in utero. Most of the exposures to lead can be eliminated by removing lead hazards and reducing exposure to toxic lead dust in the home, and taking further precautions to be sure that our children are exposed to minimum amounts of lead dust. Although the number of cases of childhood lead poisoning in Maryland has decreased significantly over the past few years, lead paint remains a significant health issue across the State of Maryland.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF BALTIMORE, That this Body supports this legislation that would require an applicant for a contractor license to meet a specified accreditation or training requirement under specified circumstances, require a licensee applying for a license renewal to submit to the Maryland Home Improvement Commission proof of compliance with specified lead training requirements, and prohibiting a licensee from violating specified lead paint abatement accreditation requirements; urges the Honorable Chair and Members of the House Environmental Matters Committee and the Honorable Chair and Members of the Baltimore City Delegation to the 2007 Maryland General Assembly to support passage of the legislation; and petitions the Governor to sign the measure into law.
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Honorable Chair of the House Environmental Matters Committee is respectfully requested to include this Resolution as part of the Committee record of support for legislative proposals to pass the Lead Poisoning Prevention Act of 2007.
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be sent to the Governor, the Mayor, the Honorable Chair and Members of the House Environmental Matters Committee, the Honorable Chair and Members of the Baltimore City Delegation to the 2007 Maryland General Assembly, the Executive Director of the Mayor's Office of State Relations, and the Mayor's Legislative Liaison to the City Council.
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