Lead exposure: abatement.

Existing law establishes an action for a public nuisance, which affects an entire community or neighborhood, or a considerable number of persons, although the extent of the annoyance or damage inflicted upon individuals may be unequal. Existing law authorizes a private party or a public body to bring an action to abate a public nuisance. This bill would specifically provide that the presence of lead-based paint on or in private or public residential properties or structures, whether considered individually, collectively, or in the aggregate, is not a public nuisance. Existing law, the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act of 1991, requires the State Department of Public Health to adopt regulations establishing a standard of care at least as stringent as the most recent federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention screening guidelines, whereby all children are evaluated for risk of lead poisoning by health care providers during each child's periodic health assessment. The standard of care, among others, is required to provide that, upon evaluation, those children determined to be at risk for lead poisoning are required to be screened. Existing law defines "lead poisoning" to mean the disease present when the concentration of lead in whole venous blood reaches or exceeds levels constituting a health risk, as specified in the most recent federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for lead poisoning as determined by the department, or when the concentration of lead in whole venous blood reaches or exceeds levels constituting a health risk as determined by the department, as specified. Existing law creates the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Fund, consisting of fees imposed on manufacturers and other persons formerly, presently, or both formerly and presently engaged in the stream of commerce of lead or products containing lead, or who are otherwise responsible for identifiable sources of lead that have significantly contributed historically, currently contribute, or both have significantly contributed historically and contribute currently to environmental lead contamination. The moneys in the fund are required to be expended, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the purposes of the act. This bill would establish the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Abatement Fund in the State Treasury. The bill would require moneys in the fund to be allocated, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the purpose of funding the abatement of lead paint in this state, except for $300,000,000 that would be continuously and directly appropriated to specified cities and counties. The bill would impose a fee, for deposit into the fund, on each architectural coating distributor, as defined. The fee would be calculated as specified, would be initially due and payable no later than January 31, 2019, and would be payable only until January 31, 2028. The fee would be administered and collected by the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. The bill would bar any action seeking to assert abatement liability against any architectural coating distributor while the distributor pays the fee. The bill would provide that the total amount of fees collected would be $475,000,000 from the commencement of the fee until January 31, 2028. The bill would also provide that the fees would be $47,500,000 in any single fiscal year. The bill would provide that its provisions would not become operative unless the Secretary of State certifies to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration prior to October 15, 2018, that the plaintiffs in People v. ConAgra Grocery Products Company (2017) 17 Cal.App.5th 51 have reached a binding settlement with all defendants. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.