Senate Bill No. 578

(By Senators Hunter, Rowe, Redd, Burnette and Caldwell)

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[Introduced March 23, 2001; referred to the Committee on Education; and then to the Committee on Finance.]

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A BILL 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, relating to air quality in new schools; and requiring process for commissioning new schools prior to occupancy.

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 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, 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 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) On or before the first day of January, two thousand two, the school building authority shall promulgate rules pursuant to article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to establish a process for commissioning any new school buildings prior to occupancy. The process for commissioning shall be consistent with current ASHRAE standards and shall include, but not be limited to the following:
(1) A process to ensure that all systems in the building, including, but not limited to, the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system have been installed in the prescribed manner and will operate within the performance guidelines;
(2) Ensure that sufficient documentation is provided to the owner to facilitate control and maintenance of the systems;
(3) Ensure that sufficient training is provided to those who will operate and maintain the systems; and
(4) Certification of successful completing of commissioning by an unbiased commissioning agent.
(e) (f) 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 authorize the use of any appropriate floor covering in public school buildings, based on user needs and performance specifications. The state board shall submit the rules to the legislative oversight commission on education accountability on or before the first day of July, two thousand.


NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require the school building authority to promulgate rules to establish a process for commissioning new school buildings prior to occupancy. The process is to be consistent with current standards of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.