What's happening
This bill lowers the definition of elevated blood lead levels from 10 to 5 micrograms per deciliter in New York.
Why it matters
Expands the pool of children and adults identified as at risk for lead poisoning. , potentially triggering earlier interventions, medical monitoring, and environmental investigations for more people—especially in vulnerable communities.
Aligns state standards with more current scientific understanding. that even low levels of lead in blood can cause developmental and health problems, particularly in children, reflecting a move toward stricter public health protections.
Requires the Department of Health to keep pace with federal recommendations. , ensuring that state regulations are updated quickly if national health agencies lower the safe blood lead threshold further, promoting responsiveness to new science.
Could lead to increased demand for public health resources. , such as environmental inspections, remediation efforts, and support services for affected families, potentially prompting new funding or policy decisions at the state and local levels.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Lower Blood Lead Threshold
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
History
- Recommit, enacting clause stricken
- Ordered to third reading cal.331
- Committee discharged and committed to rules
- Referred to finance
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Lower Lead Level Threshold
Stricken · Sponsor Sean Ryan
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
1028
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 10, 2019
Introduced by Sen. RIVERA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to the definition of elevated blood lead levels
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision 6 of section 1370 of the public health law, as amended by chapter 485 of the laws of 1992, is amended to read as follows:
6. "Elevated lead levels" means a blood lead level greater than or equal to [ten] five micrograms of lead per deciliter of whole blood or such lower blood lead level as may be established by the department pursuant to rule or regulation.
§ 2. (a) Within 90 days after the date on which this act takes effect, the department of health shall adopt all necessary regulations to define "elevated lead levels" to mean a blood lead level greater than or equal to 5 micrograms per deciliter of whole blood, or such lower blood lead level as the department may establish, to be utilized in its lead poisoning prevention program. The department shall be authorized to promulgate regulations on an emergency basis to implement the provisions of this act.
(b) Within 6 months after the date on which the federal department of health and human services has published guidance recommending a lower concentration of lead in blood than the concentration established pursuant to section one of this act as the reference level for conducting an environmental intervention, the department of health shall publish a notice of proposed rule making to consider the incorporation of such guidance into its regulations.
§ 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06236-01-9
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to the definition of elevated blood lead levels
Purpose
This bill will protect the health of children in New York State by lowering the statutory standard for elevated blood lead levels to reflect current scientific guidance.
Summary of provisions
Section 1: amends the definition of "elevated lead levels" set forth in subdivision 6 of § 1370 of the Public Health Law to lower the level of lead in whole blood requiring action under the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program from the current level of 10 micrograms of lead per deciliter of whole blood (pg/dL) to 5 pg/dL. The section also clarifies that the statutory authorization for the Department of Health to estab- lish a different blood lead level (BLL) by regulation only permits it to establish a level lower than 5 pg/dL.
Section 2: provides that, within 90 days after this act takes effect, the Department of Health shall adopt all necessary regulations to define "elevated lead levels" to mean a BLL greater than or equal to 5 pg/dL of whole blood, or such lower BLL as the Department may establish, to be utilized in its lead poisoning prevention program. The Department is authorized to promulgate regulations on an emergency basis to implement the provisions of this act.sill § 2 further provides that, within 6 months after the date on which the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has published guidance recommending a lower concentration of lead in blood than the concentration established pursuant to § 1 of the bill as a reference level for public health responses, the Department shall publish a notice of proposed rule making to consider incorporating such guidance into its regulations.
Section 3: sets an effective date for this act.
Justification
When the Legislature enacted the "Lead Poisoning Prevention Act" in 1992, it incorporated a recommendation issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC). In 1991 the CDC had recommended a ELL of 10 pg/dL or greater as an action level for children and an advisory level for environmental and educational intervention. In 2012, the CDC lowered the recommended ELL to 5 pg/dL. Although the Department of Health is author- ized under the statute to prescribe a different level by regulation, to date it has taken no action.
To set its recommendation, the CDC uses a reference value based on the 97.5th percentile of the BLL distribution among children 1 -5 years old in the United States. As public health efforts continue, this value is expected to decrease. The CDC reconsiders its recommendation every four years, and is currently considering lowering its recommended BLL to 3.5 pg/dL.
Lead is toxic and can cause neurological damage to children at any level. The CDC has stated that no safe blood level in children has been identified. Nevertheless, it still expects that children whose blood tests higher than the reference level - that is, whose blood level is higher than 97.5% of children in the U.S - should benefit from a public health response. Blood test data from 2014 reported by the CDC indicates that over 6000 children in New York City and almost 2000 children in other parts of the state had BLLs between 5 and 9 g/dL.This bill will improve the State's efforts to protect children's health and will ensure that any future changes in the CDC's recommendations receive prompt consideration.
Legislative history
2017-2018: S6472
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.