H 851 Massachusetts House · 193rd Legislature (2023-2024)

An Act ensuring safe drinking water in schools

This bill establishes the Safe Drinking Water at School Act to mandate annual lead testing for all drinking water outlets in Massachusetts schools and child care centers. It requires facilities to use certified laboratories and specific testing methods to check for lead levels exceeding one part per billion, with a six-month deadline for those previously excluded from the state's assistance program. The legislation defines key terms such as "school" and "drinking water outlet" to ensure clear compliance standards across public, charter, and non-public educational facilities. By updating Chapter 111 of the General Laws, the bill creates a uniform requirement for monitoring water safety to protect student health.
Bill status passed 3 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2023
Committee Review
Feb 2024
Senate Passage
Feb 2023
Governor
Introduced Feb 16, 2023 Last action Feb 5, 2024
Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate. No roll call record of that vote is available.
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
5
Key actions
2
Committee
2
Feb 5, 2024
Lower · Passed
Bill reported favorably by committee and referred to the committee on House Ways and Means
lower
Feb 16, 2023
Upper · Passed
Senate concurred
upper
Feb 16, 2023
Committee
Referred to the committee on Environment and Natural Resources
lower
1 primary · 31 co-sponsors

Sponsors