Title
To oppose provisions added to Ohio House Bill 49, the main operating budget of the 132nd General Assembly, which restrict Columbus’ ability to inspect and abate lead contamination in homes, and to encourage the Ohio Senate to remove these provisions
Body
WHEREAS, an amendment was included in Ohio House Bill 49, as passed by the Ohio House of Representatives on May 2, 2017, which grants the Ohio Department of Health the sole authority to regulate the inspection, enforcement, and abatement of lead based paint in Ohio; and
WHEREAS, state policy currently limits inspection and abatement activity in a home until after lead poisoning has occurred, which, in combination with the budget provisions in question, will greatly restrict Columbus’ ability to protect its residents through proactive action prior to a child being poisoned; and
WHEREAS, there are approximately 24 million homes in the United States with elevated levels of lead contamination; more than four million of these homes have young children residing in them. Children living at or below the poverty line or who live in older housing are at the greatest risk; and
WHEREAS, approximately 310,000 children in the United States aged 1-5 have blood lead levels known to have harmful health impacts. Lead poisoning can cause learning disabilities, behavioral problems, and in severe cases, seizures, coma, and death. Lead poisoning often has no obvious symptoms and goes unrecognized, making proactive action even more important; and
WHEREAS, the effort to prevent lead poisoning in Ohio’s children benefits from the coordination, collaboration, and combined contributions of local, state, federal, non-profit, and private partners; and
WHEREAS, restricting the ability of municipalities in Ohio to proactively inspect and abate lead contamination in their communities unnecessarily exposes children to the dangers of lead poisoning; now, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS: That this...
Click here for full text