state environmental health directors - astho
TRANSCRIPT
State Environmental Health Directors
Environmental Health Policy Making in States
Doug Farquhar, JD, Program Director, NCSL Environment Program October 22, 2013
National Conference of State Legislatures
Bipartisan organization, funded by state legislatures
Serves the 7,382 legislators and 30,000+ legislative staff of the nation's 50
states, its commonwealths and territories (and Scotland)
Covers every topic of state policy
– State fiscal policy (appropriations and taxation)
– State legislative management
Activities:
Research and information on topics of interest to the states
Technical assistance and training
Opportunities for policymakers to exchange ideas
Lobbying at the federal level for states' interests
Your Legislative Audience for Public Health and Prevention
Provides state legislators and staff research and analysis on the wide-range of environmental health issues
Gives state legislatures a voice in FDA, CDC, EPA, ATSDR and other federal agency policy on environmental health
Offers assistance to state legislatures in their development of policy programs and legislation on environmental health issues
NCSL’s Environmental Health
Technical Assistance to State Legislatures
Research and Analysis on legislative proposals
Tracking bills, identifying and responding to critical issues and current
trends
Sponsoring roundtable discussions on environmental health issues
Informing state legislators on environmental health
Provides state legislators and staff research and analysis on the wide-range
of environmental health issues
Gives state legislatures a voice in CDC, EPA, ATSDR and other federal
agency policy on environmental health
Offers assistance to state legislatures in their development of policy
programs and legislation on environmental health issues
NCSL’s EH Legislative Database Environmental Health Database
The Environmental Health database tracks state legislation and statutes
addressing environmental factors that may adversely impact human health or
the ecological balances essential to long-term human health and environmental
quality, whether in the natural or man-made environment.
Environmental Health Legislation Database – 2009-2013 Sessions
A source for environmental health legislation from all 50 states, the District of
Columbia, Puerto Rico and U.S. territories, the Environmental Health Legislation
Database is grouped into six topics: Asthma; Children's Environmental Health;
Indoor Air Quality (includes Mold and Radon); Pesticides (includes Mosquito
Control); Toxics and Chemicals (includes Asbestos, Lead and Mercury); and
Tracking, Surveillance and Biomonitoring. The legislation database is searchable
by keyword, year, state, topic, bill type, and status.
Feds do not address… Healthy Housing
Swimming Pools and Aquatic Venues
– Except for VGB
Vermin and Pest Control
– Does cover Pesticides
Fish Pedicures and Nail Salons
Private Drinking Water Wells
Tattoo Artists; Piercers; Scarification; Body Modification
Mold
Ultraviolet Lighters
Any Hope for Congress?
Lower in popularity than:
Cockroaches
Genghis Khan
Brussel Sprouts
Colonoscopies
Traffic Jams
France and the French
in general
State Legislatures Chambers vary in seats from 49 to 424
– NH has 423 Legislative House Seats; 1 per 2000 voters
– AK has 20; 10 Ds and 10 Rs
– CA and TX Senate Districts are larger than Congressional
Session length may be extremely short or virtually unlimited – NM is 1 month
– CA, MN, WI, IL, MI, OH, PA, NY, NJ, MA
– MT, NV, ND, TX had no Regular Session in 2012
Each legislative chamber may determine its own rules of procedure
– Unlimited Bill Introduction (NY) Bills limited to certain topics; budgets (LA)
NJ
MD
RI
MA
CT
DE
DC
HI
VTNH
Republican - 26
Democrat - 19
Split - 4
.
Nonpartisan
State Legislatures 2013
NCSL’s Environmental Health In 2013, 1,412 bills on environmental
health were introduced in every state,
plus Puerto Rico and the District of
Columbia
Of these, at least 197 laws were enacted
and 30 resolutions were adopted in 40
states
Issues ranged from the processing and
sale of road kill in Montana to the
revitalization of environmental health in
Florida to regulation of cruise ship
wastewater in Alaska to regulation of
body piercing in Arkansas.
Asthma
14 bills authorized the administration of
epinephrine to a school student suffering
from an asthma attack
OK and VA limit liability for those who
administer treatment
IL and PA made proclamations on
Asthma Awareness Month and World
Asthma Day
Biomonitoring , Tracking and Surveillance
MN HB 961 – money for biomonitoring of
children and disadvantaged communities
NY SB 243 – creates an EH tracking
system linking biomonitoring databases
NY AB 4182 – requires health care
facilities to report elevated levels of
pesticides to Commissioner of
Environmental Conservation
Biomonitoring , Tracking and Surveillance
Enacted Bills
NM HM 42 – requests DoH to study
relationship between Parkinson’s and
pesticide exposure
MD SB 380 – studies and reports on
cancer clusters and potential
environmental causes
Indoor Air Quality
22 bills require Carbon Monoxide
detectors in schools or hotels
7 bills were enacted requiring Carbon
Monoxide detectors in homes or rentals
Indoor Air Quality
MN SB 887 – requires disclosure of
radon hazards upon sale of homes
PA HR 34 and UT SCR 11 designated
January as Radon Awareness Month
– UT urges public to take action
Indoor Air Quality
Mold
PA HR 358 – directs DoH to consider
regulations to support nanotechnology to
address mold, bacteria, and other volatile
organic compounds
Indoor Air Quality
Lead Screening
MD, NJ, VA all introduced bills regarding
improving blood lead screening data
– NJ HB 3104 – requires health benefit
plans to cover blood lead screening
– MD HB 303 – seeks recommendations
on point-of-care testing to screen
children for EBL
Water Safety Alaska HB 80 regulates discharge of waste
water from Cruise Ships
Arizona prohibits the application of
certain pesticides to any body of water
under an impact analysis is done.
Colorado HB 1044 authorized the use of
gray water; creates minimum requ’ts
Louisiana Act 272 – Provides for the use of the National Primary Drinking Water
Regulations
Water Safety 7 bills address fluoride:
– CT S 131 would Eliminates the requirement to add fluoride to public water supplies
– AR H 1312 would allow local control over fluoridation
– SD S 201 Removes the requirement that fluoride be added to municipal water supplies.
– UT Ch 321 regulates the use of fluoride; requires its removal in certain circumstances
Body Art 2013 AR Act No. 597 - provides for
tattooing, body piercing,
branding, subdermal implanting,
permanent cosmetics, and
scarification
CA A 1168 - Makes body art at an
unpermitted facility a crime
GA H 118 - requires tattoo
studios to post notification that
certain tattoos could disqualify
the wearer from military service
Body Art 2013 IA S 16 - Modifies and expands
current restrictions relating to
performing and receiving a
tattoo, extends them to apply to
body piercing and body
modification
UT Ch. 329 - provides that
consent of a minor's parent or
legal guardian to receive a body
piercing or a tattoo
AZ Ch.6 - food and drink is exempt from the rules relating to food inspections if pre-packaged
DE Ch. 22 - Forbids the possession, sale, offer for sale and distribution of shark fins
GA Act 242 - exclude certain events held by nonprofit organizations from the definition of food service establishment
IN P.L. 128 - Allows for rabbits to be slaughtered and processed without inspection under certain conditions and sold on the farm, at a farmer's market, or at a roadside stand
Food Safety - 2013
Food Safety - 2013 MS Ch. 370 - Reserves to the legislature any
regulation of consumer incentive items and
nutrition labeling for food that is a menu item in
restaurants, food establishments and vending
machines
MT Ch. 302 - Exempts exchanges between home
canners and gardeners from the food safety
regulations of high-acid canned goods
OK Ch. 2 - prohibits the sale, possession and
transferring of horse meat for human
consumption
WY Ch. 86 - requires the department of
agriculture to create a cooperative interstate
shipment program for meat and poultry and
specifies standards for the program
NCSL’s Environmental Health
Doug Farquhar, JD
National Conference of State Legislatures
7700 East First Place
Denver, CO 80230
303-856-1397
www.NCSL.org