An Act To Protect State Workers from Exposure to Harmful Substances
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 1042
Committee: State and Local Government
Sponsors: HARNETT, MIRAMANT, DOORE, EVANGELOS, FECTEAU, GRAMLICH, MORALES, SYLVESTER
Amends: 5 MRSA §1742-G

Legislative Document
No. 1042
H.P. 770
House of Representatives, March 10, 2021
An Act To Protect State Workers from Exposure to Harmful 
Substances
Reference to the Committee on State and Local Government suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative HARNETT of Gardiner.
Cosponsored by Senator MIRAMANT of Knox and
Representatives: DOORE of Augusta, EVANGELOS of Friendship, FECTEAU of Augusta, 
GRAMLICH of Old Orchard Beach, McDONALD of Stonington, MORALES of South 
Portland, SYLVESTER of Portland.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  5 MRSA §1742-G is enacted to read:
§1742-G.  Bureau of General Services; inventory of asbestos, lead, black mold and 
other substances that may be harmful to human health in state-owned and 
state-leased buildings
1.  Definitions.  As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following terms have the following meanings.
A.  "Bureau" means the Bureau of General Services within the department.
B.  "Department" means the Department of Administrative and Financial Services.
C.  "State-owned building" means a building owned by the State in which persons 
employed by a state agency perform job duties, including, but not limited to, 
maintenance and repair work.
2.  Initial inventory.  The bureau shall inventory all state-owned buildings to identify 
the presence of asbestos, lead, black mold and other substances that may be harmful to 
human health.  The department shall require property owners of buildings leased to the 
State to conduct a similar inventory and provide the results of the inventory to the bureau 
prior to executing a new lease or renewing or extending an existing lease and, with respect 
to a lease that on the effective date of this subsection has a remaining term of more than 2 
years, within 12 months of the effective date of this subsection.  The bureau shall enter the 
results of the inventories into the database established and maintained by the bureau 
pursuant to subsection 3.
3.  Database.  The bureau shall establish and maintain an electronic database including, 
for each state-owned building or state-leased building:
A.  The results of the inventories completed by the bureau and by the property owners 
of state-leased buildings pursuant to subsection 2;
B.  Detailed plans for the remediation, abatement or containment of asbestos, lead, 
black mold and other substances that may be harmful to human health found in state-
owned buildings and state-leased buildings; and
C.  Data on the completion of planned remediation, abatement or containment under 
paragraph B.
4.  Access to database.  The database established and maintained pursuant to 
subsection 3 must be readily accessible electronically to:
A.  Collective bargaining agents of employees who work in state-owned buildings or 
state-leased buildings;
B.  State employees whose usual work sites are state-owned buildings or state-leased 
buildings that contain asbestos, lead, black mold or other substances that may be 
harmful to human health;
C.  Individuals who perform maintenance, repair and custodial services in state-owned 
buildings or state-leased buildings;
D.  Firefighters responsible for providing services to state-owned buildings or state-
leased buildings;
E.  The Department of Labor;
F.  The Department of Health and Human Services, Maine Center for Disease Control 
and Prevention; and
G.  Members of the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over 
state and local government matters.
5.  Building maintenance or repair.  Prior to any maintenance or repair of a state-
owned building by a person employed by a state agency, the bureau shall review the 
building's records in the database established and maintained pursuant to subsection 3 or 
inventory the state-owned building if the state-owned building has not already been 
inventoried pursuant to subsection 2 and add the results of the inventory into the database 
established and maintained pursuant to subsection 3.  If asbestos, lead, black mold or other 
substances that may be harmful to human health are found in the state-owned building to 
be maintained or repaired by a person employed by a state agency, the bureau shall inform 
the person performing the maintenance or repair work and provide appropriate protective 
gear.
6.  Monitoring, abatement and remediation.  To promote a safe and healthy 
environment in state-owned buildings, the bureau's division of safety and environmental 
services shall:
A.  Provide statewide monitoring of state-owned buildings to continuously identify the 
presence of health hazards in state-owned buildings, including, but not limited to, 
asbestos, lead, black mold and other substances that may be harmful to human health;
B.  Conduct routine building inventories and testing as appropriate to discover and 
assess the presence of health hazards in state-owned buildings, including, but not 
limited to, asbestos, lead, black mold and other substances that may be harmful to 
human health;
C.  Identify any abatement, remediation, containment and maintenance necessary to 
address and prevent potential health hazards in state-owned buildings, including, but 
not limited to, asbestos, lead, black mold and other substances that may be harmful to 
human health; and
D.  Work with state departments and state agencies to develop safety protocols and 
train state employees on safety protocols.
7.  Biennial report.  The department shall submit a report to the joint standing 
committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over state and local government matters 
that describes the conditions of state-owned buildings and state-leased buildings and areas 
of concern by February 1st of every even-numbered year.
8.  Rules.  The department may adopt rules to implement this section.  Rules adopted 
pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules pursuant to chapter 375, subchapter 
2-A.
Sec. 2.  Safety education; black mold standards; safety committees.  The 
Department of Administrative and Financial Services and the Department of Labor shall 
work together with collective bargaining organizations representing state employees to 
promote health and safety education of state employees, to identify appropriate standards 
for black mold prevention and remediation in state-owned buildings and state-leased 
buildings similar to the standards recommended by the United States Environmental 
Protection Agency and to develop a framework for regionally based safety committees.
SUMMARY
This bill requires the Department of Administrative and Financial Services, Bureau of 
General Services to inventory all state-owned buildings where state employees perform job 
duties to determine the presence of asbestos, lead, black mold and other substances that 
may be harmful to human health.  It requires property owners of buildings leased to the 
State to conduct a similar inventory and report the results to the bureau.  The bill requires 
the bureau to establish and maintain a database containing the results of the inventories and 
make the database readily accessible electronically to employee collective bargaining 
agents, employees working in state office buildings with asbestos, lead, black mold or other 
substances that may be harmful to human health, individuals who perform maintenance, 
repair or custodial services, firefighters, the Department of Labor, the Department of Health 
and Human Services, Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention and members of 
the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over state and local 
government matters.  It requires the database to be consulted before maintenance of or 
repair to a state-owned building by a state employee and the provision of protective gear to 
the employee if appropriate.  The department may adopt rules to implement these 
requirements and is required to submit a biennial report to the joint standing committee 
regarding the conditions of the buildings.