reglab/housing_qa huggingface dataset:
RI Gen L § 23-24.6-2 (2021)
2021 Rhode Island General Laws|Title 23 - Health and Safety|Chapter 23-24.6 - Lead Poisoning Prevention Act|Section 23-24.6-2 - Legislative findings.

§ 23-24.6-2. Legislative findings.The general assembly finds, upon the report of the environmental lead task force and the reports, hearings, and records of its own committees and of federal agencies including the environmental protection agency and centers for disease control, that:(1) Environmental exposures to even low levels of lead increase a child's risks of developing permanent learning disabilities, reduced concentration and attentiveness and behavior problems, problems which may persist and adversely affect the child's chances for success in school and life.(2) Childhood lead poisoning is caused by environmental exposure to lead. The most significant sources of environmental lead are lead based paint in older housing and house dust and soil contaminated by this paint.(3) Childhood lead poisoning is completely preventable.(4) Rhode Island does not currently have a comprehensive strategy in place for preventing childhood lead poisoning. As a result, tens of thousands of Rhode Island's children are poisoned by lead at levels believed to be harmful with most of these poisoned children going undiagnosed and untreated.(5) Childhood lead poisoning is dangerous to the public health, safety, and general welfare of the people and necessitates excessive and disproportionate expenditure of public funds for health care and special education, causing a drain upon public revenue.(6) The enactment and enforcement of this chapter is essential to the public interest. It is intended that the provisions of this chapter be liberally construed to effectuate its purposes.(7) The magnitude of the childhood lead poisoning in Rhode Island's older homes and urban areas is a result of approved use of lead based materials over an extended period in public buildings and systems and private housing that a comprehensive approach is necessary to alleviate the cause, identify and treat the children, rehabilitate the affected housing where young children reside, and dispose of the hazardous material. Rhode Island presently does not have the public or the private resources to handle the total problem, requiring prioritizing on a need basis.History of Section.P.L. 1991, ch. 355, § 1.
RI Gen L § 23-24.6-3 (2021)
2021 Rhode Island General Laws|Title 23 - Health and Safety|Chapter 23-24.6 - Lead Poisoning Prevention Act|Section 23-24.6-3 - Declaration of purposes.

§ 23-24.6-3. Declaration of purposes.The purposes of this chapter are: (1) to protect the public health and public interest by establishing a comprehensive program to reduce exposure to environmental lead and prevent childhood lead poisoning, the most severe environmental health problem in Rhode Island; and (2) to establish rigorous, systematic enforcement of requirements for the reduction of lead hazards in properties where children have been lead poisoned; and (3) to define the role of the department of health as the lead state agency charged with: (i) defining lead poisoning, (ii) establishing programs for screening persons, especially children under the age of six (6) years, who are at risk of lead poisoning, (iii) setting standards for eliminating and reducing lead hazards in buildings and premises, including dwellings where a child under the age of six (6) years who has been lead poisoned resides, (iv) providing information to the public and segments thereof about the risks of lead poisoning, and (v) initiating enforcement actions against persons who violate the provisions of this chapter or regulations promulgated pursuant to this chapter. The goal of this chapter is to reduce the incidence of childhood lead poisoning in Rhode Island to the greatest extent feasible.History of Section.P.L. 1991, ch. 355, § 1; P.L. 2002, ch. 187, § 2; P.L. 2002, ch. 188, § 2.
RI Gen L § 23-24.6-5 (2021)
2021 Rhode Island General Laws|Title 23 - Health and Safety|Chapter 23-24.6 - Lead Poisoning Prevention Act|Section 23-24.6-5 - Environmental lead program.

§ 23-24.6-5. Environmental lead program.(a) There is established within the department of health an environmental lead program which shall be responsible for creating a coordinated and comprehensive program for lead poisoning prevention, including screening and detection, education, lead hazard reduction, and enforcement. The program shall exercise any and all authorities of the department which may be necessary and appropriate, including but not limited to promulgating and enforcing regulations, which regulations shall set forth a general framework for actions to be taken in response to childhood lead poisoning at different blood lead levels.(b) The department shall develop an educational program regarding environmental lead exposures and lead poisoning.(c) The department shall promulgate regulations for acceptable environmental lead levels in dwellings, where a child under the age of six (6) years with environmental intervention blood lead level or greater resides, and in buildings or properties frequently used by children under the age of six (6) years, including standards for lead on painted surfaces and surface coatings, drinking water, household dusts, and soil.History of Section.P.L. 1991, ch. 355, § 1; P.L. 2001, ch. 86, § 10; P.L. 2002, ch. 187, § 2; P.L. 2002, ch. 188, § 2.
RI Gen L § 23-24.6-6 (2021)
2021 Rhode Island General Laws|Title 23 - Health and Safety|Chapter 23-24.6 - Lead Poisoning Prevention Act|Section 23-24.6-6 - Interagency coordinating council on environmental lead.

§ 23-24.6-6. Interagency coordinating council on environmental lead.(a) There is established an interagency coordinating council on environmental lead within the department of health consisting of six (6) members.(b) The purpose of the council shall be as follows:(1) To coordinate the activities of its member agencies with respect to: (i) environmental lead policy; (ii) the development of educational materials; (iii) drafting regulations which have as their purpose reducing or preventing lead poisoning; and (iv) enforcement of laws, regulations, and ordinances pertaining to lead poisoning and lead poisoning prevention.(2) To recommend the adoption of policies with regard to the detection and elimination of the hazards to the public posed by exposure to lead in the environment;(3) To recommend the adoption of policies with regard to the screening and treatment of individuals suffering from elevated exposures to environmental lead; and(4) To report on or before March 1 of each year to the governor, speaker of the house and the president of the senate on both the progress of the comprehensive environmental lead program and recommendations for any needed changes in legislation, which report shall at a minimum: (i) provide by city and town, the incidence and levels of lead poisoning; (ii) describe educational programs; (iii) summarize regulations adopted pursuant to the provisions of this chapter and chapter 128.1 of title 42, and state the number of enforcement actions pursuant to this chapter initiated, the number completed or closed due to successful remediation of lead hazards, the number completed or closed for other reasons (which reasons shall be explained), and the number that remain open (including information on how long such actions have been open and the reasons they have not been completed).(c) The members of the council shall be as follows:(1) There shall be five (5) ex officio members: the director, the director of environmental management, the director of human services, the attorney general, and the executive director of the housing resources commission or their designees.(2) There shall be one local government official, who shall have knowledge of lead hazard reduction programs at the local level, appointed by the president of the Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns.(3) [Deleted by P.L. 2002, ch. 187, § 2 and by P.L. 2002, ch. 188, § 2.](d) The members shall elect from among their members a chairperson, a vice chairperson, and secretary.(e) The council shall meet at the call of the chairperson, but not less than quarterly. The director shall provide any meeting and hearing rooms and secretarial staff that the council may require.History of Section.P.L. 1991, ch. 355, § 1; P.L. 2001, ch. 180, § 51; P.L. 2002, ch. 187, § 2; P.L. 2002, ch. 188, § 2.
RI Gen L § 23-24.6-7 (2021)
2021 Rhode Island General Laws|Title 23 - Health and Safety|Chapter 23-24.6 - Lead Poisoning Prevention Act|Section 23-24.6-7 - Screening by health care providers.

§ 23-24.6-7. Screening by health care providers.(a) The department shall promulgate regulations establishing the means by which and the intervals at which children under six (6) years of age shall be screened for lead poisoning. The department is also authorized to require screening for lead poisoning in other high risk groups.(b) Each physician registered or licensed by Rhode Island or any agency of Rhode Island shall screen children under six (6) years of age for lead poisoning at the intervals and using the methods specified in the regulations adopted pursuant to subsection (a). Each licensed, registered or approved health care facility serving children under six (6) years of age, including but not limited to hospitals, clinics, and health maintenance organizations, shall take appropriate steps to ensure that their patients receive screening for lead poisoning at the intervals and using the methods specified in these regulations.(c) All health care programs funded in whole or in part with state money and having child health components shall include, require, and/or provide for screening children under six (6) years of age for lead poisoning at the intervals and using the methods specified in the regulations promulgated under this section.(d) The provisions of this section shall not apply if the parents of the child object to the child undergoing blood lead screening on the grounds that the screening conflicts with their religious tenets and practices.(e) All blood samples taken by physicians or other health care providers licensed in Rhode Island or by licensed, registered, or approved health care facilities in Rhode Island from children under the age of six (6) years for the purpose of screening for blood lead level shall be sent to the state laboratory in the department of health for laboratory analysis.(f) The department shall, at least annually, analyze and summarize all of the lead screening information provided by physicians, health care facilities, and laboratories and provide this information to all other local and state agencies involved with case management and lead hazard reduction. An analysis and summary of the data shall also be made available, at least annually, to the health care community, to the general assembly, and the general public in a format that is easily understandable to non-technical readers.History of Section.P.L. 1991, ch. 355, § 1; P.L. 2001, ch. 86, § 10.
RI Gen L § 23-24.6-8 (2021)
2021 Rhode Island General Laws|Title 23 - Health and Safety|Chapter 23-24.6 - Lead Poisoning Prevention Act|Section 23-24.6-8 - Screening prior to child care or school enrollment.

§ 23-24.6-8. Screening prior to child care or school enrollment.(a) Each child care provider licensed, certified, or approved by any Rhode Island state agency shall obtain from a parent or guardian of each child in care under the age of six (6) years, but not less than nine (9) months of age, evidence that the child has been screened for lead poisoning or a certificate signed by the parent or guardian stating that blood testing is contrary to that person's beliefs.(b) Each public and private nursery school and kindergarten shall, prior to initial enrollment of a child, obtain from a parent or guardian of the child evidence that the child has been screened for lead poisoning according to guidelines established under § 23-24.6-7, or a certificate signed by the parent or guardian stating that blood testing is contrary to that person's beliefs.History of Section.P.L. 1991, ch. 355, § 1; P.L. 2001, ch. 86, § 10.
RI Gen L § 23-24.6-9 (2021)
2021 Rhode Island General Laws|Title 23 - Health and Safety|Chapter 23-24.6 - Lead Poisoning Prevention Act|Section 23-24.6-9 - Reimbursement by third party payers.

§ 23-24.6-9. Reimbursement by third party payers.Screening for lead poisoning and lead screening related services for children under six (6) years of age as required by department regulations and diagnostic evaluations for lead poisoning for children under six (6) years of age, including but not limited to confirmatory blood lead testing, shall be a covered health benefit and be reimbursable under any general or blanket policy of accident or health insurance offered by an insurer except for supplemental policies which only provide coverage for specific diseases, hospital indemnity Medicare supplements, or other supplemental policies. The department of human services shall pay for the lead screening and lead screening related and diagnostic evaluation services where the patient is eligible for medical assistance under the provisions of chapter 8 of title 40. The department of health shall pay for the lead screening and lead screening related and diagnostic evaluation services where the patient is not covered by any health insurance. All companies which are self insured for health care services will be encouraged by the department to participate as other insurers.History of Section.P.L. 1991, ch. 355, § 1; P.L. 2001, ch. 86, § 10.
RI Gen L § 23-24.6-10 (2021)
2021 Rhode Island General Laws|Title 23 - Health and Safety|Chapter 23-24.6 - Lead Poisoning Prevention Act|Section 23-24.6-10 - Lead screening restricted receipt account.

§ 23-24.6-10. Lead screening restricted receipt account.The director shall establish procedures for lead screening, laboratory testing, and reimbursement. The state laboratory services shall be billed to and reimbursed by insurers. Fees shall be set based upon the rates paid by the insurers to private laboratories for blood lead analysis. All reimbursement fees paid to the department shall be deposited into the general fund. General revenue appropriations for the lead screening program shall be used for:(1) Administration of the comprehensive environmental lead program, including performance of environmental lead inspections by state inspectors for enforcement purposes, and development, administration, and coordination of a comprehensive educational program on environmental lead exposures and lead poisoning;(2) Provision of comprehensive environmental lead inspections and technical assistance on appropriate environmental lead hazard reduction to families of significantly lead poisoned Rhode Island children and to families of uninsured and underinsured lead poisoned Rhode Island children on a priority basis by blood lead level; regulations clearly identifying the blood lead level corresponding to significant lead poisoning and the mechanism for prioritizing by blood lead level shall be promulgated;(3) Provision of comprehensive environmental lead inspections and technical assistance on appropriate environmental lead hazard reduction to preschools, day care facilities, nursery schools, public and private elementary schools, and foster homes and shelters serving children under the age of six (6) years;(4) Provision of funds to the department of environmental management for enforcement of fugitive dust regulations designed to reduce or eliminate the hazards caused by removal of leaded paint from the exterior of structures;(5) Administration of a childhood blood lead testing program by the department's division of laboratories, including processing, analyzing, and reporting childhood blood lead samples;(6) Provision of the necessary blood lead screening and follow up blood lead testing for uninsured and underinsured preschool children in Rhode Island; and(7) Development of a data management system which can be used to track cases of lead poisoning to ensure that they receive timely and appropriate medical treatment, to monitor homes for environmental lead inspections and lead hazard reduction, and to investigate the extent of childhood lead poisoning in Rhode Island.History of Section.P.L. 1991, ch. 355, § 1; P.L. 1995, ch. 370, art. 40, § 70; P.L. 2001, ch. 86, § 10.
RI Gen L § 23-24.6-11 (2021)
2021 Rhode Island General Laws|Title 23 - Health and Safety|Chapter 23-24.6 - Lead Poisoning Prevention Act|Section 23-24.6-11 - Reporting of cases of lead poisoning.

§ 23-24.6-11. Reporting of cases of lead poisoning.Any physician registered or licensed by Rhode Island or any agency of Rhode Island or any employee of a licensed, registered, or approved health care facility making the diagnosis of childhood lead poisoning shall report that diagnosis to the director within ten (10) business days of the diagnosis.History of Section.P.L. 1991, ch. 355, § 1.
RI Gen L § 23-24.6-12 (2021)
2021 Rhode Island General Laws|Title 23 - Health and Safety|Chapter 23-24.6 - Lead Poisoning Prevention Act|Section 23-24.6-12 - Comprehensive environmental lead inspections.

§ 23-24.6-12. Comprehensive environmental lead inspections.The department shall develop and promulgate regulations for:(1) Conducting comprehensive environmental lead inspections, which regulations shall, at a minimum, include procedures for:(i) Inspecting, testing, and/or sampling of drinking water, household dust, painted surfaces, soil, and/or other appropriate fixed surfaces that may contain lead;(ii) Notification of owners, occupants, and mortgagees and lienholders and/or the posting of warnings when unacceptable environmental lead levels are identified during an inspection; and(iii) Notifying the department of the results of inspections;(2) For other inspections necessary to accomplish the purposes of this chapter; and(3) Collection of environmental media samples, including, but not limited to, dust, soil, paint, pewter, pottery, and water, and field analysis of their lead content.History of Section.P.L. 1991, ch. 355, § 1; P.L. 2001, ch. 86, § 10; P.L. 2002, ch. 187, § 2; P.L. 2002, ch. 188, § 2; P.L. 2003, ch. 59, § 3; P.L. 2003, ch. 72, § 3.
RI Gen L § 23-24.6-13 (2021)
2021 Rhode Island General Laws|Title 23 - Health and Safety|Chapter 23-24.6 - Lead Poisoning Prevention Act|Section 23-24.6-13 - State inspectors.

§ 23-24.6-13. State inspectors.(a) The director, or his or her designee, or any state inspector is authorized to inspect during business hours, or by appointment at another time agreed to by the inspector and the owner, occupant, or other person in charge of a dwelling, dwelling unit, or premises:(1) Any dwelling, dwelling unit, or premises for the purpose of conducting a comprehensive environmental lead inspection, or other inspection, as part of the treatment and follow up for a child identified as being lead poisoned;(2) Any structure or premises that is used as a preschool, day care facility, nursery school, public or private elementary school or schoolyard, public playground, or foster home or shelter serving children under the age of six (6) years for the purpose of conducting a comprehensive environmental lead inspection, or other inspection;(3) Any dwelling, dwelling unit, or premises for the purpose of conducting a comprehensive environmental lead inspection, or other inspection, in response to any complaint to the department by an occupant or the parent or guardian of any minor who is an occupant renting or leasing the dwelling, dwelling unit, or premises of the existence of a lead exposure hazard for a child under the age of six (6) years residing in that dwelling, dwelling unit, or premises; or(4) Any dwelling, dwelling unit, structure, or premises identified in subsection (a)(1), (2), or (3) of this section which is undergoing a lead hazard reduction or a regulated renovation or rehabilitation at a reasonable time, without prior notice, as part of an enforcement inspection.(b) The owner, occupant, or other person in charge of a dwelling, dwelling unit, or premises shall, upon presentation of proper identification by the state inspector, for the limited purpose of inspection for lead, grant the inspector entry and free access to every part of the dwelling, dwelling unit, or premises where lead may pose a hazard to the health and safety of children under the age of six (6) years. If any owner, occupant, or other person in charge of a dwelling, dwelling unit, or premises fails or refuses to permit this access and entry to the structure or premises under his or her control or any part of it, the state inspector may, upon a showing that probable cause exists for the inspection and for the issuance of a court order directing compliance with the inspection requirements of this section, petition and obtain an order from a court of competent jurisdiction. Any person refusing to comply with an order issued pursuant to this section shall be subject to any penalties as may be authorized by law for violation of a court order.History of Section.P.L. 1991, ch. 355, § 1; P.L. 2002, ch. 187, § 2; P.L. 2002, ch. 188, § 2.
RI Gen L § 23-24.6-14 (2021)
2021 Rhode Island General Laws|Title 23 - Health and Safety|Chapter 23-24.6 - Lead Poisoning Prevention Act|Section 23-24.6-14 - Inspection of child care facilities.

§ 23-24.6-14. Inspection of child care facilities.(a) The director shall promulgate regulations requiring that as a condition of licensure all preschools, day care facilities, nursery schools, public and private elementary schools and schoolyards, public playgrounds, and shelters and foster homes serving children under the age of six (6) years in Rhode Island:(1) Receive comprehensive environmental lead inspections at specified intervals; and(2) Demonstrate that they are either lead free or lead safe.(b) The director, shall, using state inspectors, conduct comprehensive environmental lead inspections for all these facilities at the specified intervals.History of Section.P.L. 1991, ch. 355, § 1; P.L. 2001, ch. 86, § 10.