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 Lawmakers
Take Aim at Lead Problem
by Wendy Wendland-Bowyer, Detroit Free Press, January 21,
2004
For more articles like this
visit
http://www.bridges4kids.org.
The Michigan
House Health Policy Committee passed four bills Tuesday aimed at
reducing childhood lead poisoning that range from requiring
Medicaid HMOs to test more children to creating a registry of
lead-safe rental housing. The bills parallel several separate
but similar bills that are up for a third and final reading in
the Senate. And while lead activists are thrilled by the
bipartisan support of the package, some are also privately
hoping the bills do not get tied up in committee, or watered
down or passed without learning what does and doesn't work in
other states.
For instance:
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The housing
registry bill that passed the House's Health Policy Committee on
Tuesday only requires landlords whose property was built before
1978 to register if their rental was inspected by a certified
risk assessor. Most rentals are not inspected by risk assessors.
There also is no penalty for landlords who decline to register.
Such voluntary approaches have not worked well in other states.
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The HMO bill
requires 80 percent of all kids on Medicaid to be tested for
lead poisoning or the HMO will face financial penalties. This
bill didn't make it out of the Senate committee last month
because of the objections of HMOs. While it did pass the House
committee Tuesday, the committee chair said it will be reviewed
and possibly changed before going to the full House for a vote.
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One other bill
would set up a lead commission to evaluate the state's
lead-poisoning prevention program and make recommendations to
make it better. The fourth bill would require laboratories
conducting lead tests to file results electronically with the
state.
The bills were
unanimously passed in the House on Tuesday, proof, lead
activists say,interest remains high.
The bill that makes it a misdemeanor for landlords to knowingly
rent a lead-hazardous property to a family with children passed
out of the Senate committee in December, but is going nowhere in
the House. It was sent to the House Judiciary Committee in
October, where it has remained.
Legislators say they care about lead issues and want to protect
Michigan's kids, an estimated 22,000 of whom are permanently
poisoned by lead each year. They also say some give and take is
to be expected.
"Lead is still a problem," said Rep. Stephen Ehardt,
R-Lexington, who chairs the House Health Policy Committee and is
a backer of a bill that would require lead tests to be reported
to the state electronically. ". . . There are ways to solve it."
The bills, along with aplan to reduce lead poisoning announced
by Gov. Jennifer Granholm in August, follow a yearlong focus on
childhood lead poisoning by the Free Press.
Granholm created a study group to lay out a blueprint for
fighting lead. The blueprint is expected to be presented to
Granholm next month, said the governor's spokeswoman, Liz Boyd.
Michigan is not alone in its fight against lead poisoning.
Lyke Thompson, cochair of the Detroit Lead Coalition, has
studied lead-safe housing registries in Maryland, Wisconsin and
Boston. Wisconsin did a good job putting its registry online, as
Michigan is proposing, but because it is voluntary, few houses
are listed, Thompson said.
Maryland has made its registry mandatory and enacted strict
penalties for landlords who don't register, Thompson said. This
has helped them develop a good registry that is useful for
municipal leaders, but not as easy for the public to access.
Thompson said he thinks Boston has the strongest registry
because it is Web-based and all older properties that could
contain lead paint are included -- including rentals and
owner-occupied dwellings.
"Clearly, voluntary systems fail," said Thompson, of his
research into other states. Michigan's registry has no penalty
for landlords who don't sign up.
Some HMOs expressed concern Tuesday about the goal of testing 80
percent of all young children on Medicaid for lead poisoning.
Dr. Fred Van Alstine, medical director of Health Plus of
Michigan, said his agency sends letters to parents and
physicians, and still children don't get tested.
"It is very difficult to get it done because it requires a blood
sample," he said.
But testing all young kids on Medicaid for lead poisoning is a
federal requirement. In Detroit, testing for children age 3 and
younger has reached 80 percent, according to the Michigan
Department of Community Health. Statewide, the number is 42
percent. Both percentages were substantially lower just a year
ago.
Legislators hope to iron out the details of both bills and move
them to the governor's desk within a month. For the full lead
series, see
www.freep.com/lead/index.htm.
More Information
To get
information on the lead bills, look up their numbers at
www.michiganlegislature.org. The bill numbers are 5115,
5116, 5117, 5118 and 5119 in the House, and 753, 754, 755, 756
and 757 in the Senate.
To express your opinion on these bills, contact your senator,
representative or the governor. A list of senators is available,
with e-mail addresses, at
www.senate.state.mi.us/.
A list of representatives, with e-mail addresses, is available
at
www.house.state.mi.us/.
Office numbers are in Lansing phone listings by legislators'
names and under "Michigan, State of," House of Representatives
and Senate.
If you're not sure who your legislator is, check with your city,
township or county clerk. Write to your state representative at
P.O. Box 30014, Lansing 48909. Write to your state senator at
P.O. Box 30036, Lansing 48909.
Write to Gov. Jennifer Granholm at P.O. Box 30013, Lansing
48909, or call 517-335-7858, 8:30-5 weekdays. There is a
recording for after-hours or when the line is busy.
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