H-3901.1 _______________________________________________
HOUSE BILL 2885
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State of Washington 57th Legislature 2002 Regular Session
By Representatives Schual‑Berke, Skinner, Tokuda, Kagi, Jarrett, Darneille, Conway, Chase, Santos, Ogden, Lysen, Linville and McDermott
Read first time 02/01/2002. Referred to Committee on Agriculture & Ecology.
AN ACT Relating to the children's environmental health and protection advisory council; and adding a new chapter to Title 70 RCW.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that children in the state face many preventable exposures to environmental hazards in their schools, homes, and communities. In certain cases children are at greater risk than adults for exposure to and possible illness from environmental hazards. This is due in part to their behaviors but also to their decreased ability to detoxify certain substances due to the immaturity of their body organs and immune systems.
The legislature further finds that higher rates of poverty place children of ethnic and minority communities at disproportionate risk for environmental exposures due to inadequate housing, poor nutrition, and limited access to health care. Solutions to complex environmental health problems require the ongoing communication, collaboration, and cooperation of affected communities.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. (1) The children's environmental health and protection advisory council is created.
(2) Membership of the advisory council shall consist of thirteen members. The president of the senate shall appoint one member of the majority party and one member of the minority party. The speaker of the house of representatives shall appoint one member from each party. The other members shall include: The secretary of the department of health or designee; the secretary of the department of ecology or designee; the secretary of the department of agriculture or designee; the superintendent of public instruction or designee; the secretary of the department of social and health services or designee; two licensed pediatric health care providers with expertise in the field of children's environmental health, appointed by the governor; one parent or guardian whose child has been clinically diagnosed with exposure to an environmental health hazard, appointed by the governor; and an expert in the field of environmental toxicology, appointed by the governor.
(3) Appointed members shall serve four year terms. Of the initial legislative members, one shall be appointed for a one-year term, one shall be appointed for a two-year term, one shall be appointed for a three-year term, and one shall be appointed for a four-year term. Of the initial members appointed by the governor, one shall be appointed for a one-year term, one shall be appointed for a two-year term, one shall be appointed for a three-year term, and one shall be appointed for a four-year term.
(4) Members of the advisory council shall serve without compensation.
(5) The department of health shall provide staff support and administrative assistance to the advisory council.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. The advisory council shall:
(1) Meet at least four times a year;
(2) Review and comment on existing rules, regulations, and standards to ensure that they adequately protect the health of children from environmental hazards;
(3) Gather and disseminate information to the public, including the research and medical communities, community-based organizations, schools, and state agencies, on how to reduce, treat, and eliminate children's exposures to environmental hazards and to further the public's understanding of the environmental hazards that may potentially affect children; and
(4) Report to the governor by December 1, 2002, and each December thereafter with recommendations on changes in regulation that would reduce children's exposure to environmental hazards.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. Sections 1 through 3 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 70 RCW.
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