SB 288 — AN ACT CONCERNING INDOOR AIR QUALITY IN SCHOOLS.

GF - Cost 308,000 206,000 Note:

GF=General Fund Municipal Impact:

Municipalities Effect FY 22 $ FY 23 $ Various Local and Regional STATE See Below See Below School Districts MANDATE 2 - Cost Explanation This bill makes various changes affecting indoor air quality in school facilities.

The bill requires the Department of Public Health (DPH) to establish a routine indoor air quality monitoring program by June 30, for local and regional boards of education and requires these boards of education to meet a number of air quality standards.

This results in a state mandate and significant costs to local and regional school districts that are not currently in compliance, as well as a 1The fringe benefit costs for most state employees are budgeted centrally in accounts administered by the Comptroller.

The estimated active employee fringe benefit cost associated with most personnel changes is 41.3% of payroll in FY 22 and FY 23.

2State mandate is defined in Sec.

2-32b(2) of the Connecticut General Statutes, "state mandate" means any state initiated constitutional, statutory or executive action that requires a local government to establish, expand or modify its activities in such a way as to necessitate additional expenditures from local revenues.

sSB288 / File No.

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483 significant cost to DPH.

The bill requires local and regional boards of education to ensure that its heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system (HVAC) is maintained and operated in accordance with Standard 62.

Current law requires HVAC systems to comply with the prevailing standard, which may be Standard 62, at the time the system is installed or renovated.

Schools that are not in compliance with Standard 62 will incur significant costs.

It is estimated that schools that are not in compliance and have not been recently renovated could face costs up to $1 million per school, plus engineering and ongoing maintenance costs to ensure that the HVAC systems are in compliance with Standard 62.

Additionally, the bill requires that school boards must maintain each of its school’s gymnasiums at an indoor temperature between 65 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit while students are using it or close it for the day if the school cannot meet the temperature requirements for more than two consecutive hours.

This will result in significant costs associated with air conditioning gymnasiums.

It estimated that air conditioning a high school gym could be up to $500,000, up to $300,000 for a middle school, and up to $150,000 for an elementary school gym, plus annual maintenance and energy costs.

The costs to schools could be incurred in either FY 22 or FY 23 as the standards must be met by FY 23.

The ongoing maintenance and operating costs would be incurred in the outyears.

This bill will result in significant costs to DPH.

DPH does not have the expertise in indoor air monitoring and HVAC system operation and maintenance.

DPH would need to hire a consultant to create the indoor air monitoring program for the local and regional boards of education.

The estimated cost of hiring a consultant to develop the indoor air monitoring program is $110,000.

This one-time cost would be incurred in FY 22.

In addition, DPH will need to hire two Epidemiologists at a totalcost of$198,000 inFY 22and$206,000in FY 23(plusfringe benefits) to oversee consultant work, review the indoor air monitoring program, establishreporting requirementsfor theindoor air monitoring program, sSB288 / File No.

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483 establish and oversee the contractor certification program, and manage a database necessary to track certification program and correction plan compliance.

The Out Years The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would continue into the future subject to inflation.

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483 OLR Bill Analysis SB 288 AN ACT CONCERNING INDOOR AIR QUALITY IN SCHOOLS.

SUMMARY This bill makes various changes affecting indoor air quality in school facilities.

It requires local and regional boards of education (hereafter “school boards”) to ensure that their HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) systems are maintained and operated in accordance with Standard 62 (see BACKGROUND).

Current law requires HVAC systems to comply with the prevailing standard, which may be Standard 62, when the system is installed or renovated.

The bill also requires school boards to close a school for the day if Standard 62 cannot be maintained for two or more consecutive school activity hours (i.e., any time of day in which students or school personnel occupy a school facility throughout the year).

Under the bill, school boards must maintain each of its school’s gymnasiums at an indoor temperature between 65 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit while students are using it or close it for the day if the school cannot meet the temperature requirements for more than two consecutive hours.

Additionally, the bill requires:

1.

the Department of Public Health (DPH) to (a) establish a routine indoor air quality monitoring program by June 30, 2022, for school boards;

(b) review and approve the program triennially, starting by June 30, 2025;

and (c) establish related reporting requirements by June 30, 2023;

2.

school boards to implement the DPH program in their schools by sSB288 / File No.

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3.

(a) DPH to establish a voluntary contractor certification program for school indoor air quality services and (b) school boards to contractonlywithDPH-certifiedcontractorsforschoolindoorair quality services starting June 30, 2023;

4.

school superintendents, by December 31, 2021, to designate an individual within each school board to be responsible for receiving complaints about poor indoor air quality at school facilities and report the complaints to the superintendent;

and 5.

school boards to participate in the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Air Quality Flag Program by June 30, (see BACKGROUND).

EFFECTIVE DATE:

July 1, 2021 INDOOR AIR QUALITY MONITORING PROGRAM Program Establishment The bill requires DPH to establish a routine indoor air quality monitoring program (i.e., testing procedures, protocols, and frequency) for school boards to use that is consistent with Standard 62 and approved by (1) a scientist with expertise in indoor air quality and (2) an industry professional with knowledge of and experience with Standard 62.

The department must post the program’s details on its website.

Starting by June 30, 2025, DPH must triennially review and approve the program to ensure its efficacy.

Program Implementation The bill requires school boards to implement the DPH monitoring program in each of their schools.

It permits a school board to transfer the program’s execution to its regional council of government, with the sSB288 / File No.

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If the school board makes such a transfer, it must retain legal and fiscal responsibility for implementing the program.

Reporting Requirements The bill requires DPH, by June 30, 2023, to establish reporting requirements for school boards to ensure the program is in effect at each of their school facilities during school activity hours.

Voluntary Contractor Certification Under the bill, DPH must establish a voluntary contractor certification program for school facility indoor air quality services by June 30, 2023.

The bill requires school boards who contract for indoor air quality services on or before June 30, 2023, to do so only with DPH-certified contractors starting by this date.

INDOOR AIR QUALITY COMPLAINTS The bill requires each school superintendent, by December 31, 2021, to:

1.

designate an individual within the school board to (a) receive complaints about poor indoor air quality in a school facility, including evidence of mold, pest infestation, or hazardous odors or chemicals, and(b)reportthecomplaintstothesuperintendent;

2.

make the procedure to file an air quality complaint available on the school district’s website;

3.

forward complaints received to the president of any bargaining unit whose members may be affected by the reported condition;

and 4.

report complaints to the superintendent’s school board at the next regularly scheduled meeting.

Under the bill, school boards must investigate any complaint filed sSB288 / File No.

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483 and determine whether a health hazard exists (the bill does not define this term).

If it does, they must then notify the federal Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and develop and implement a remediation plan.

School boards must submit remediations plans to DPH for approval, in a manner the commissioner prescribes.

The bill defines a “school facility” as any permanent or portable building,structure,orcommercialspacethataschoolboardowns,rents, operates, or leases.

It includes (1) donated space used as a classroom or day care and (2) any other space for education services, including classrooms, cafeterias, staff lounges and offices, auditoriums, gymnasiums, and libraries.

BACKGROUND EPA Air Quality Flag Program This program uses colored flags based on the EPA’s Air Quality Index to notify teachers, students, and school personnel about outdoor air quality concerns.

Schools raise a colored flag each day that corresponds to their local air quality forecast.

For example, a green flag indicates good air quality, while an orange flag indicates the air quality is unhealthy for sensitive groups, such as students with respiratory conditions.

Standard 62 The American Society of Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning Engineers’ Standard62, “VentilationforAcceptableIndoorAirQuality” is incorporated into the State Building Code and includes minimum ventilation rates and other measures for buildings to ensure indoor air quality that is safe for occupants and minimizes adverse health effects.

COMMITTEE ACTION Public Health Committee Joint Favorable Yea 33 Nay 0 (03/29/2021) sSB288 / File No.

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