2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 197b - Lead Paint Inspectors; Deleaders; Licensure

Section 197B. (a) The director shall, by July first, nineteen hundred and eighty-eight, establish regulations for the licensing of lead paint inspectors. The director shall prescribe the requirements for licensure and may set conditions and restrictions governing the revocation and suspension of licenses. The director shall periodically assess the number of applications for licensed lead paint inspectors and may, subject to appropriation, increase the frequency of training sessions required for licensure, if necessary, in order to process said applications in an efficient and timely fashion. The director may, subject to appropriation, ensure that there are a sufficient number of training sites available throughout the commonwealth.
(1) No persons shall enter into engage in or conduct lead paint inspections unless such person shall have received a license therefor.
(2) The director may, by regulation, authorize employees of the state program, local boards of health and code enforcement agencies to temporarily conduct inspections without receiving such a license during a period ending July first, nineteen hundred and ninety. The director shall set a date after which only licensed inspectors may conduct inspections adequate to comply with sections one hundred and eighty-nine A to one hundred and ninety-nine, inclusive, and to qualify for tax credits under paragraph (e) of section six of chapter sixty-two, but in no event shall that date be later than July first, nineteen hundred and ninety. The director shall also set out the conditions, if any, under which unlicensed inspectors may conduct such inspections during this transition period.
(b) The department of labor standards shall, by July first, nineteen hundred and eighty-eight and in consultation with the director, establish regulations for the licensing of deleaders. The department of labor standards shall prescribe the requirements for licensure and may set conditions and restrictions governing the revocation and suspension of licenses.
(1) Such regulations shall require the training of workers in subjects including, but not limited to, safe work practices, instruction in health risks, precautionary measures, protective equipment, and other safeguards, including practices to prevent contamination of the residential premises or child-occupied facility, ambient discharges and ground contamination. On site instruction shall be a component of the required training. Said department shall periodically assess the number of applications for licensed deleaders and may, subject to appropriation, increase the frequency of training sessions required for licensure, if necessary, in order to process said applications in an efficient and timely manner. Said department may, subject to appropriation, also ensure that there are a sufficient number of training sites available throughout the commonwealth. No person licensed as an inspector shall receive anything of value for referring any person to a licensed deleader. Violation of this subsection shall be punishable by license revocation and by civil penalty of not more than one thousand dollars.
(2) No person shall enter into engage in or conduct deleading operations unless such person shall have received a license therefor.
(3) The director of labor standards, jointly with the director, shall set a date after which only licensed deleaders may conduct removal and covering adequate to comply with section 197 and to qualify for tax credits under paragraph (e) of section 6 of chapter 62 but in no event shall the date be later than July 1, 1990. Said director of labor standards, jointly with the director, shall also set out the conditions, if any, under which unlicensed deleaders may conduct such removal and covering during this transition period.
(c) The department of labor standards shall, by July first, nineteen hundred and eighty-eight and in consultation with the director, promulgate regulations to protect the occupational safety and health of licensed lead paint inspectors and deleaders. Such regulations may be more, but not less, stringent than applicable federal standards. The department shall also, in consultation with the director, adopt regulations specifying licensing requirements and safety procedures to be used by all persons employed in performing renovations or rehabilitation in a residential premises or child-occupied facilities in a manner that disturbs paint, plaster or other materials containing dangerous levels of lead.
(d) All private laboratories which perform lead testing for persons other than those engaged in deleading operations shall be certified by the department of public health and shall follow testing protocols established by the department of public health. Lead testing of workers engaged in deleading operations shall be performed by the department of labor standards or by laboratories certified by the department of labor standards and the results of such testing shall be reported to the department of labor standards and the director.
(e) The director and the director of labor standards shall charge fees for licensure and certification in an amount determined annually by the commissioner of administration under the provisions of section 3B of chapter 7.
(f) The director, with respect to licensing of lead paint inspectors under subsection (a), and the department of labor standards, with respect to licensing of deleaders under subsection (b), shall enforce the provisions of this section as appropriate and shall have all necessary powers therefore.
(1) The appropriate agency may revoke, suspend, cancel or deny any certification or any license, at any time, if it believes that the terms or conditions thereof are being violated or that the holder of or applicant for the certification or license has violated any regulation of the department of public health or the department of labor standards or any other regulation or law of the commonwealth. Any person aggrieved by a determination by the director or the department to issue, deny, revoke or suspend any certification or license may request an adjudicatory hearing under the provisions of chapter thirty A.
(2) Any person who violates the terms or conditions of any certification or license issued under this section or any regulation or law of the commonwealth concerning such licensing or certification shall be punished by a fine of not less than five hundred nor more than fifteen hundred dollars for each offense. The director or the department of labor standards may file a written complaint with the district court in the jurisdiction in which the violation occurred. Punishment by fine under this section may be in addition to the suspension of any license or certification.
(3) A representative of the director or the department of labor standards or a board of health or local code enforcement agency may issue an immediate cease-work order to any person who violates the terms or conditions of any license issued under this section or any provision of this section or section one hundred and ninety-seven or any regulation or order issued thereunder if such violation will endanger or materially impair the health or well-being of any occupant of a residential premises or child-occupied facility, any lead paint inspector, any deleader or any person employed in performing renovations or rehabilitation in a manner that disturbs paint, plaster or other materials containing dangerous levels of lead.
(4) In addition to any other penalties under this subsection, the director of labor standards may issue a written warning or a civil citation for violations of this section or regulations under this section. Subsections (c) to (i), inclusive, of section 6F1/2 of chapter 149 shall apply to these citations.
(5) In addition to the cease-work order authority under this section, whenever the department of labor standards has reason to believe that a person, firm, corporation or other entity is engaging in or is about to engage in a violation of section 197 or this section, or the regulations under those sections, it may bring an action in the name of the commonwealth against that person, firm, corporation or other entity to restrain the violation by temporary restraining order or preliminary or permanent injunction. Subsections (a) and (b) of said section 6F1/2 of chapter 149 shall apply to these actions.
(6) The director of labor standards may adopt regulations to carry out this section.
(7) Nothing in this section shall limit the authority of the department of labor standards under chapter 149.