Enacts the "school buildings carbon monoxide detectors act"

Title of bill

An act to amend the education law, in relation to enacting the "school buildings carbon monoxide detectors act"

Purpose

To protect the health and safety of elementary and secondary school students by requiring installation of carbon monoxide detectors in all school buildings where there is a substantial risk of exposure to carbon monoxide.

Summary of provisions

Adds a new section 411 requiring the Commissioner of Education to adopt regulations requiring the installation of operable carbon monoxide detectors in very elementary and secondary school building within the state wherein the use of heating or other equipment poses a substantial risk of exposure to carbon monoxide. Such carbon monoxide detectors must meet the manufacture, design and installation standards established by the State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building code Council pursuant to Executive Law Section 378.

Section 3602(6-c) is amended to add carbon monoxide detectors to the list of safety and security devices that qualify for the special apportionment of school building aid. The commissioner is authorized to annually prescribe a special maximum cost allowance for carbon monoxide detectors.

Section 4 Provides that no school district shall be required to make expenditures in its current fiscal year or in any subsequent fiscal year of more than $100 per affected school building for carbon monoxide detectors.

Section 5 is the effective date.

Justification

Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas which can cause nausea, headaches and dizziness. If it is allowed to build up in enclosed spaces, it can be deadly. Carbon monoxide detectors represent an inexpensive and effective way to protect against carbon monoxide poisoning.

The Legislature recently recognized the value of these devices by requiring their installation in one and two family homes. However, carbon monoxide detectors are not currently required in school buildings. This bill calls on the Commissioner of Education to adopt regulations requiring that detectors be installed in every elementary and secondary school building in New York State where heating equipment or other factors pose a substantial risk of exposure to carbon monoxide.

Carbon monoxide detectors are also added to the list of safety and security equipment for which a special apportionment of school building aid is available. These provisions will help to ensure that the buildings our students learn in can be made safer without imposing any burdensome costs on school districts.

Legislative history

2011-12 S.3487A; 2009-10 S.2314; 2007-08 S.1689; 2005-06 S.983; 2003-04 S.3563B.

Fiscal implications

Minimal

Effective date

This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it shall have become a law, and shall apply to all school buildings first occupied on or after such date, provided, however, that the commissioner of education shall be immediately authorized and directed to promulgate rules and regulations and take any and all other actions necessary to implement the provisions of this act on such date, and provided further that such rules and regulations shall provide that school buildings occupied prior to January 31, 2018 shall be required to install operable carbon monoxide detectors not later than January 31, 2020.