ENROLLED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 2401
(By Delegates Williams, Manuel, C. White,
Sparks, Houston, Webb and Stemple)
[Passed March 11, 1999; in effect from passage.]
AN ACT to amend and reenact section three, article nine-e,
chapter eighteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to further amend
said article by adding thereto two new sections, designated
sections four and five, all relating to preconstruction and
post-construction site testing for radon; requiring the
state board to promulgate rules that minimize the use of
carpeting; requiring the state board to promulgate rules
that address the employment of heating, ventilating and air- conditioning technicians; requiring the state board to
promulgate rules that would set forth a procedure for
investigating and addressing indoor air quality complaints; and provisions for enforcement.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section three, article nine-e, chapter eighteen of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted; and that said article be
further amended by adding thereto two new sections, designated
sections four and five, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 9E. AIR QUALITY IN NEW SCHOOLS ACT.
§18-9E-3. Air quality in new schools.
(a) In an effort to create well ventilated school
environments, and notwithstanding any other provision of this
code to the contrary, any new school building designed and
constructed in the state by a county board after the first day of
July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-eight, regardless of the
funding source, shall be designed and constructed in compliance
with the current standards of the American society of heating,
refrigerating and air conditioning engineers handbook (ASHRAE),
the national fire protection association code (NFPA) and the code
of the building officials and code administrators (BOCA).
(b) Upon notice from the school building authority that
a new public school building is occupied, the division of health shall perform radon testing in the school within the first year
after occupancy and at least every five years thereafter. The
county school board shall provide such reasonable assistance to
the division of health as may be necessary to perform the radon
testing. The radon testing shall include all major student
occupied areas at or below grade level. If it is determined that
radon is present in amounts greater than the amount determined to
be acceptable by the rules promulgated by the school building
authority, pursuant to subsection (d) of this section, any
industry accepted mitigation technique shall be utilized to
reduce the radon level to the level or below the level determined
acceptable by the school building authority.
(c) If the school building authority determines that it is
feasible to test for radon prior to the construction of a school
building, the school building authority may cause preconstruction
site testing for radon to be performed.
(d) The school building authority shall promulgate rules
pursuant to article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code
to assure that any new school building designed after the
effective date of this article is designed and constructed in accordance with the current ASHRAE, NFPA and BOCA standards. The
school building authority shall promulgate rules, pursuant to
article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code that
establish standards for safe levels of radon for public school
buildings. The school building authority shall submit the rules
for approval to the legislative oversight commission on education
accountability on or before the first day of July, one thousand
nine hundred ninety-nine. The rules shall include the
requirement that county boards submit all new school designs to
the school building authority for review and approval for
compliance with current education standards and design
efficiencies prior to preparation of final bid documents.
(e) The state board shall promulgate rules, pursuant to
article three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, in
consultation with the division of health, that minimize the use
of carpeting in public school buildings based on user needs and
performance specifications of the carpeting. The state board
shall submit the rules to the legislative oversight commission on
education accountability on or before the first day of July, one
thousand nine hundred ninety-nine.
§18-9E-4. Heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning
technicians.
(a) Subject to appropriation by the Legislature therefor,
the state board, in consultation with the division of health,
shall promulgate rules pursuant to article three-b, chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code that will address servicing public
school buildings by heating, ventilation and air-conditioning
(HVAC) technicians. The rules shall set forth a job description
for the HVAC technician. At the discretion of the state board,
HVAC technicians may be employed by the county board of
education, by the regional educational service agency servicing
the county or by the department of education using the funds
allocated pursuant to this section. The hiring entity shall set
a salary for the HVAC technician that is competitive with other
employers of HVAC technicians in the region after accounting for
annual leave, sick leave, insurance benefits, retirement benefits
and any other benefits provided. Existing employees who have
advanced HVAC skills or existing employees who receive
appropriate HVAC training may be utilized as HVAC technicians.
The rules also shall provide for sufficient continuing education
training for HVAC technicians to maintain proficiency in the changing technologies in the field. The rules shall be submitted
to the legislative oversight commission on educational
accountability prior to the first day of September, one thousand
nine hundred ninety-nine.
(b) County boards, regional educational service agencies and
the department of education shall have the option to contract for
HVAC services from prequalified vendors if this option is more
cost effective than using existing employees or creating a new
position: Provided, That an existing employee may not be
displaced by contracting for HVAC technician services: Provided,
however, That HVAC services that have been performed in the past
or which require knowledge and experience the employer does not
have access to, may be contracted out to a prequalified vendor.
(c) Funds appropriated for the purpose of hiring HVAC
technicians shall be appropriated originally to the department of
education. The department of education then may allocate the
funds to the regional educational service agencies or to the
counties, depending upon which entity employs the HVAC technician
as specified by rule.
§18-9E-5. Investigation of indoor air quality complaints in existing schools and schools subsequently
constructed.
(a) The state board, in consultation with the division of
health, shall promulgate rules pursuant to article three-b,
chapter twenty-nine-a of this code which require each county
board to investigate all reports of indoor air quality problems
within the county. The rules shall set forth a designated
official or officials within the county school system to be
responsible for addressing, pursuant to this section, any indoor
air quality complaints. The rules also shall set forth a
procedure for any party to file a complaint with the designated
official or officials. Any indoor air quality complaint found to
be valid by the designated official or officials shall be
addressed by forming a plan of correction. Any county board that
addresses an indoor air quality complaint is encouraged to seek
any available assistance from local, state and federal agencies
in both investigating the complaint and in forming the plan of
correction. A county board shall consider any documented plans
of closure of a school building when forming any plan of
correction for that school building. The rules shall be
submitted to the legislative oversight commission on education accountability prior to the first day of September, one thousand
nine hundred ninety-nine. Additionally, the rules shall set an
appropriate cost for a plan of correction over which all such
plans of correction shall be reported to the legislative
oversight commission on education accountability. Based upon the
legislative oversight commission on education accountability's
experience in receiving the complaints, the commission shall
submit a recommendation for funding the plans of correction.
(b) Furthermore, each plan of correction shall be
incorporated into each county board's ten-year county-wide major
improvement plan set forth in section sixteen, article nine-d of
this chapter. Also pursuant to section sixteen, article nine-d
of this chapter, the state board may restrict the use of the
necessary funds or otherwise allocate funds from moneys
appropriated by the Legislature for those purposes set forth in
section nine, article nine-a of this chapter: Provided, That
nothing in this subsection shall be interpreted as requiring that
a county board make addressing an air quality complaint a
priority over other projects in the county board's ten-year
county-wide major improvement plan.