Amendment SSA1-SB423

2019 - 2020 LEGISLATURE

SENATE SUBSTITUTE AMENDMENT 1, TO SENATE BILL 423

January 3, 2020 - Offered by Senator Cowles.

SB423-SSA1,1,7 An Act to renumber 48.737; to amend 24.61 (3) (a) 2. and 24.61 (3) (a) 3.; and to create 24.61 (3) (a) 1. dm., 24.61 (3) (a) 3m., 48.737 (2), 97.67 (8), 115.28 (66) to (68), 118.07 (6), 121.91 (4) (om) and 254.15 (7) of the statutes; relating to: lead testing of drinking water sources in certain schools; providing loans for lead remediation in certain schools; and a revenue limit adjustment for a school district for costs incurred to remediate lead contamination in drinking water sources at schools in the school district.

Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau

This substitute amendment differs from 2019 Senate Bill 423 in the following respects:

1. Under the bill, a school board, operator of an independent charter school, or governing body of a private school participating in a parental choice program or in the Special Needs Scholarship Program (governing body) must conduct certain tests of water sources in schools. The substitute amendment adds child care programs established by school boards to the list of “schools” in which testing must occur.

2. Under the bill, the governing body of a school must test all potable water sources at the school. The substitute amendment requires the governing body to test all “drinking water sources” at the school. Under the substitute amendment, “drinking water source” means a water faucet, drinking fountain, ice maker, or other water outlet that dispenses potable water that is used for drinking or food preparation.

3. The substitute amendment requires the governing body of a school to identify all water sources at the school, determine whether the water source must be tested under the bill, and label all potable water sources that are not tested and that are accessible to pupils as “not for drinking.”

4. Under the bill, the governing body of a school must test drinking water sources for lead concentration, and, if test results show a concentration of lead “greater than the concentration considered safe for drinking under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act,” the governing body must take certain actions, including disconnecting the affected water source. Under the substitute amendment, the concentration of lead that triggers the required actions is a concentration of lead “greater than the federal action level for lead established pursuant to the federal Safe Drinking Water Act” (lead contamination), which is currently set at 15 parts per billion (ppb).

5. Under the bill, the required actions described under item 4 include, among other things, disconnecting the affected water source until a subsequent test shows a lead concentration below the trigger level. Under the substitute amendment, all access to water from the affected water source must be either disconnected, shut off, or otherwise eliminated.

6. The substitute amendment requires the Department of Public Instruction, the Department of Children and Families, and the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection to post on each of their Internet sites a copy of the guidance document and testing protocol published by the federal Environmental Protection Agency under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, commonly called the “3Ts,” an abbreviation for “Training, Testing, and Taking Action.” Under the substitute amendment, when the Department of Health Services creates the technical guidance document described below, DPI, DCF, and DATCP must post DHS's guidance document on each of their Internet sites instead of the 3Ts.

7. The substitute amendment requires DHS to create a document by July 1, 2023, providing technical guidance on and a model plan for schools, child care providers, child care centers, group homes, and recreational and educational camps for testing potable sources of water for lead contamination, remediating lead contamination in potable water sources, and disseminating information on results of tests of potable water sources. Under the substitute amendment, in creating the guidance document, DHS must consult with stakeholders and interested parties, conduct a public hearing, and accept written comments.

8. Under the bill, a governing body must conduct required tests in accordance with the 3Ts. The substitute amendment requires a governing body to conduct required tests in accordance with the guidance posted on DPI's Internet site at the time a test is conducted. In other words, after DHS completes its guidance document and DPI posts that guidance on DPI's Internet site, testing must be conducted in compliance with DHS's guidance, rather than the 3Ts.

9. The substitute amendment requires DPI, in consultation with DHS and the Department of Natural Resources, to seek federal funding to assist governing bodies to pay for the costs of complying with the testing and remediation requirements created in the bill.

10. The substitute amendment changes the frequency of required testing from three years to five years.

11. Under the bill, if the governing body of a school conducts two consecutive tests in a school at least three years apart that show lead levels not higher than one ppb in water sources in the school, the governing body is not required to conduct any additional tests at the school. Under the substitute amendment, if the governing body of a school conducts two consecutive tests of a particular water source at a school that show lead levels not higher than five ppb, the governing body is not required to conduct any additional tests of that water source. The substitute amendment also specifies that the consecutive tests must be conducted at the regular testing interval required under the substitute amendment.

12. The substitute amendment provides that the testing requirements do not apply to a school building in which pupils are not regularly present and that is not used to prepare food or provide water for pupil consumption.

13. The substitute amendment eliminates the referendum restriction exception created in the bill. Instead, the substitute amendment creates a revenue limit adjustment for a school district that incurs costs to remediate lead contamination in water sources at schools in the school district. Under the substitute amendment, if a school board, after holding a public hearing, adopts a resolution to do so, the school district's revenue limit for a school year is increased by the amount spent in that school year on lead remediation in accordance with a remediation plan developed by the school board. Under the substitute amendment, the total amount by which a school district may increase its revenue limit for all school years in which the school district incurs costs for lead remediation may not exceed 3 percent of the total amount of property taxes levied by the school district for the 2019-20 school year.

14. The bill allows the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands to use school trust funds to issue loans to school districts, municipalities, technical college districts, and cooperative educational service agencies for the purpose of remediating lead contamination in schools. The bill also allows funds from the Safe Drinking Water Loan Program to be used to reduce the principal and interest rates on BCPL loans made for this purpose. The substitute amendment eliminates the provision in the bill that allows SDWLP funds to be used to reduce the principal and interest rates on these BCPL loans.

For further information, see the analysis for the bill.

The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:

SB423-SSA1,1 Section 1. 24.61 (3) (a) 1. dm. of the statutes is created to read:

SB423-SSA1,4,1 24.61 (3) (a) 1. dm. Remediating lead contamination in a school building.

SB423-SSA1,2 Section 2. 24.61 (3) (a) 2. of the statutes is amended to read:

SB423-SSA1,4,5 24.61 (3) (a) 2. A town, village, city, or county as provided under s. 67.04 or otherwise authorized by law, or to remediate lead contamination in a school with which the town, village, city, or county has contracted.

SB423-SSA1,3 Section 3. 24.61 (3) (a) 3. of the statutes is amended to read:

SB423-SSA1,4,9 24.61 (3) (a) 3. A technical college district as provided under s. 67.04 or otherwise authorized by law, or to remediate lead contamination in a school with which the district has contracted.

SB423-SSA1,4 Section 4. 24.61 (3) (a) 3m. of the statutes is created to read:

SB423-SSA1,4,12 24.61 (3) (a) 3m. A cooperative educational service agency for the purpose of remediating lead contamination in a school with which the agency has contracted.

SB423-SSA1,5 Section 5 . 48.737 of the statutes is renumbered 48.737 (1).

SB423-SSA1,6 Section 6 . 48.737 (2) of the statutes is created to read:

SB423-SSA1,4,19 48.737 (2) (a) No later than 7 days after the effective date of this paragraph .... [LRB inserts date], the department shall post on its Internet site a copy of the guidance document and testing protocol published by the federal environmental protection agency under 42 USC 300j-24 (b). This paragraph does not apply after the department posts the information required under par. (b).

SB423-SSA1,4,23 (b) No later than 7 days after the department receives the notice under 2019 Wisconsin Act .... (this act), section 12 (2), the department shall post on its Internet site a copy of the document created under s. 254.15 (7) providing technical guidance and a model plan for testing potable sources of water for lead contamination.

SB423-SSA1,7 Section 7 . 97.67 (8) of the statutes is created to read:

SB423-SSA1,5,5 97.67 (8) (a) No later than 7 days after the effective date of this paragraph .... [LRB inserts date], the department shall post on its Internet site a copy of the guidance document and testing protocol published by the federal environmental protection agency under 42 USC 300j-24 (b). This paragraph does not apply after the department posts the information required under par. (b).

SB423-SSA1,5,9 (b) No later than 7 days after the department receives the notice under 2019 Wisconsin Act .... (this act), section 12 (2), the department shall post on its Internet site a copy of the document created under s. 254.15 (7) providing technical guidance and a model plan for testing potable sources of water for lead contamination.

SB423-SSA1,8 Section 8. 115.28 (66) to (68) of the statutes are created to read:

SB423-SSA1,5,16 115.28 (66) Lead contamination guidance document and testing protocol. No later than 7 days after the effective date of this subsection .... [LRB inserts date], post on the department's Internet site a copy of the guidance document and testing protocol published by the federal environmental protection agency under 42 USC 300j-24 (b). This subsection does not apply after the state superintendent posts the information required under sub. (67).

SB423-SSA1,5,21 (67) Technical guidance and model plan for testing potable water. No later than 7 days after the department receives the notice under 2019 Wisconsin Act .... (this act), section 12 (2), post on the department's Internet site a copy of the document created under s. 254.15 (7) providing technical guidance and a model plan for testing potable sources of water for lead contamination.

SB423-SSA1,6,5 (68) Federal funding for lead testing and remediation. In consultation with the department of health services and the department of natural resources, seek federal funding to assist school boards, operators of charter schools under s. 118.40 (2r) and (2x), and governing bodies of private schools participating in programs under ss. 115.7915, 118.60, and 119.23 to pay for the costs of complying with the testing and remediation requirements under s. 118.07 (6). The state superintendent shall ensure that any funding obtained for this purpose is distributed equitably among those school boards, operators, and governing bodies that are eligible for that funding.

SB423-SSA1,9 Section 9. 118.07 (6) of the statutes is created to read:

SB423-SSA1,6,7 118.07 (6) (a) In this subsection:

SB423-SSA1,6,10 1. “Drinking water source” means a water faucet, drinking fountain, ice maker, or other water outlet that dispenses potable water that is used for drinking or food preparation.

SB423-SSA1,6,11 2. “Governing body” means any of the following:

SB423-SSA1,6,13 a. For a public school other than a charter school under s. 118.40 (2r) or (2x), the school board of the school district in which the school is located.

SB423-SSA1,6,15 b. For a child care program established under s. 120.13 (14), the school board that established the child care program.

SB423-SSA1,6,17 c. For a charter school under s. 118.40 (2r) or (2x), the operator of the charter school.

SB423-SSA1,6,19 d. For a private school participating in a program under s. 115.7915, 118.60, or 119.23, the governing body of the private school.

SB423-SSA1,6,22 3. “Lead contamination” means a concentration of lead that is greater than the federal action level for lead established pursuant to the Safe Drinking Water Act, 42 USC 300f et seq.

SB423-SSA1,6,25 4. “School” means a public school, including a charter school; a child care program established under s. 120.13 (14); or a private school participating in a program under s. 115.7915, 118.60, or 119.23.

SB423-SSA1,7,7 (b) Except as provided under pars. (g) and (h), the governing body of a school shall, at least once every 5 years, test all drinking water sources at the school for lead contamination. The governing body shall conduct a test under this paragraph in accordance with the guidance posted on the department's Internet site under s. 115.28 (66) or (67) at the time the test is conducted. The governing body shall submit the test sample for processing to the laboratory of hygiene or a certified laboratory, as defined in s. 299.11 (1) (b).

SB423-SSA1,7,15 (c) The governing body of a school shall identify all water sources at the school and, for each water source, determine whether it dispenses potable or nonpotable water. For each water source that dispenses potable water, the governing body shall determine whether the water source is a drinking water source under this subsection. For a potable water source the governing body determines is not a drinking water source under this subsection, the governing body shall, if the water source is accessible to pupils, clearly identify the water source with an appropriate sign identifying the water as not for drinking.

SB423-SSA1,7,17 (d) The governing body of a school shall, no later than 30 days after receiving the results of a test conducted under par. (b), do all of the following:

SB423-SSA1,7,20 1. Post the results on the governing body's Internet site or, if the governing body does not have an Internet site, make the results available to the public for examination on request.

SB423-SSA1,7,21 2. Provide the results to the department.

SB423-SSA1,7,24 (e) If the results of a test of a drinking water source at a school conducted under par. (b) show lead contamination, the governing body of the school shall do all of the following:

SB423-SSA1,8,3 1. Immediately disconnect, shut off, or otherwise eliminate all access to water from the drinking water source and, if necessary, provide an alternative drinking water supply.

SB423-SSA1,8,6 2. No later than 6 months after receiving the results that show lead contamination, develop and submit a plan to the department for remediating the lead contamination.

SB423-SSA1,8,10 3. No later than 30 days after submitting a remediation plan under subd. 2., post the plan on the governing body's Internet site or, if the governing body does not have an Internet site, make the plan available to the public for examination on request.

SB423-SSA1,8,13 (f) The governing body of a school may reconnect, turn on, and otherwise restore access to water from a drinking water source described under par. (e) 1. if the governing body does all of the following:

SB423-SSA1,8,15 1. Remediates the lead contamination in the drinking water source in accordance with the remediation plan developed under par. (e) 2.

SB423-SSA1,8,17 2. Conducts a test of the drinking water source in accordance with the requirements under par. (b).

SB423-SSA1,8,19 3. Submits the test sample from the test described under subd. 2. for processing in accordance with the requirements under par. (b).

SB423-SSA1,8,21 4. Receives test results for the test sample described under subd. 3. that show no lead contamination.

SB423-SSA1,8,24 5. No later than 30 days after receiving the test results described under subd. 4., posts the results as provided under par. (d) 1. and provides the results to the department.

SB423-SSA1,9,4 (g) If the governing body of a school conducts 2 consecutive tests under par. (b) or (f) of a drinking water source at the school and the test results show lead levels not higher than 5 parts per billion, the governing body is not required to conduct any additional tests under par. (b) of that drinking water source.

SB423-SSA1,9,7 (h) The requirements under this subsection do not apply to a school building in which pupils are not regularly present and that is not used to prepare food or provide water for pupil consumption.

SB423-SSA1,10 Section 10. 121.91 (4) (om) of the statutes is created to read:

SB423-SSA1,9,24 121.91 (4) (om) 1. Subject to subds. 2. and 3., beginning in the 2020-21 school year, if the school board of a school district receives results for a test conducted under s. 118.07 (6) (b) that show lead contamination, as defined in s. 118.07 (6) (a) 3., in a drinking water source, as defined in s. 118.07 (6) (a) 1., at a school in the school district, and if the school board adopts a resolution to do so, the limit otherwise applicable to the school district under sub. (2m) in any school year is increased by the amount spent by the school district in that school year on a project, including the payment of debt service on a bond or note issued or a state trust fund loan obtained to finance the project, to remediate the presence of lead in potable sources of water at schools in the school district in accordance with a remediation plan developed by the school board. The term of a bond or note issued or state trust fund loan obtained to finance the project under this subdivision may not exceed 20 years. If a school board issues a bond or note or obtains a state trust fund loan to finance a project described in this subdivision, a resolution adopted by the school board under this subdivision is valid for each school year in which the school board pays debt service on the bond, note, or state trust fund loan.

SB423-SSA1,10,6 2. At least 30 days before voting on a resolution under subd. 1. to exceed the school district's revenue limit, a school board shall hold a public hearing on the resolution. At least 30 days before the public hearing, the school board shall publish a class 1 notice, under ch. 985, of the public hearing that includes the address for an Internet site at which the public may access a copy of the remediation plan described under subd. 1 that is the subject of the resolution.

SB423-SSA1,10,10 3. The total amount by which a school district may increase the limit otherwise applicable to the school district under sub. (2m) in all school years for all remediation projects under subd. 1. may not exceed 3 percent of the total amount of property taxes levied by the school district for the 2019-20 school year.

SB423-SSA1,10,13 4. Any additional revenue received by a school district under this paragraph shall not be included in the base for determining the school district's limit under sub. (2m) for the following school year.

SB423-SSA1,11 Section 11 . 254.15 (7) of the statutes is created to read:

SB423-SSA1,10,23 254.15 (7) (a) After consultation with the department of agriculture, trade and consumer protection, the department of children and families, the department of natural resources, the department of public instruction, and the department of safety and professional services, create a document providing technical guidance on and a model plan for schools, child care providers under ch. 48, child care centers under ch. 48, group homes under ch. 48, and recreational and educational camps under ch. 97 for testing potable sources of water for lead contamination, remediating lead contamination in potable sources of water, and disseminating information on results of tests of potable sources of water.

SB423-SSA1,10,25 (b) In developing the technical guidance and model plan under this subsection, do all of the following:

SB423-SSA1,11,1 1. Consult with stakeholders and interested parties.

SB423-SSA1,11,2 2. Conduct a public hearing relating to the technical guidance and model plan.

SB423-SSA1,11,4 3. Accept from any person written comments relating to the technical guidance and model plan.

SB423-SSA1,11,6 (c) Create the document providing technical guidance and a model plan under this subsection by July 1, 2023.

SB423-SSA1,12 Section 12 . Nonstatutory provisions.

SB423-SSA1,11,8 (1) (a) In this subsection:

SB423-SSA1,11,9 1. “Drinking water source” has the meaning given in s. 118.07 (6) (a) 1.