Advocates Laud NYS Assembly for Passing Important Lead Paint Bill Protecting New York State Children, Urge Immediate Senate Action

The Senate has only two weeks to pass a bill that will save thousands of children from preventable ailments due to lead paint poisoning in the household.  

Albany, NY: Yesterday the NYS Assembly passed the Lead Paint Right to Know Act, (S. 2353A, Kavanagh and A.4820B, Rivera) which would require residential property sellers to give buyers results of lead paint tests so buyers will know if and where lead paint is present if the property was built before 1978, when lead-based paint was banned federally. Organizations in the Lead Free Kids NY coalition lauded the Assembly’s passage of the bill, and released a letter calling for the NYS Senate to do the same (view here), signed by over 35 organizations and over 50 individuals. 

There is no safe level of lead for children or adults. New York State has the dubious distinction of leading the nation in the sheer number of children with elevated blood lead levels every year. Once lead is in the body, no amount of money can undo the health effects of lead, which include IQ loss and learning challenges at low levels, and at high levels can result in coma and death.

New York State has a track record of taking action to protect residents from lead. The 2023 budget enacted Public Health Law 1377 to start lead inspections in rental properties in the 24 hardest hit communities. Later that year, the Lead Pipes Right to Know Act (S. 5512, Rivera/ A. 6115,  Paulin), requiring that information about the number and location of lead pipes in NYS be made publicly available, was signed into law.

Advocates note that the Lead Paint Right to Know Act is needed to shift New York State from a secondary prevention state - where actions are taken after a child already has lead in their body - to a primary prevention state - where paint tested for lead illuminates opportunities to remove lead-based paint, or ensure property maintenance encapsulates the lead paint. It will leverage a database created under new Public Health Law 1377 to track lead-based paint in homes as a tool for the Department of Health to address the source of the problem. 

Where Lead Pipes Right to Know Act will publicly track the number and location of lead pipes so that state and federal resources can be sourced and targeted to support local efforts to get the lead out of New York’s drinking water by removing lead pipes, the Lead Paint Right to Know Act will allow the state to track locations of lead paint in homes. Both bills will help prevent lead poisoning by allowing the state to pinpoint resources to address the threat of lead at its source. 

Advocates in the Lead Free Kids NY coalition will continue to press for Senate action over the final two weeks of the 2024 legislative session.