Asbestos & Lead Paint Abatement Grant Program

The bill creates the rural housing and development asbestos and lead paint abatement pilot grant program (pilot grant program) in the department of public health and environment (department) to award grants, beginning July 1, 2025, to local governments in rural areas to offset costs associated with the abatement of asbestos and lead paint in housing, commercial buildings, and other development projects. To receive be eligible for a grant, a local government must submit an application to the department. The application must:

• Describe a voluntary clean-up plan that satisfies existing statutory requirements concerning clean-up of hazardous materials; and
• For renovation or demolition sites, include an inspection report consistent with rules detailing asbestos-containing materials in excess of trigger levels;
• For renovation of lead-based paint abatement sites, include a description of eligibility that the facility meets the statutory definition;
• For both asbestos and lead-based paint abatement, renovation, or demolition, include documentation demonstrating that the applicant has acquired any necessary permits and regulatory approval from the air pollution control division; and
• Include an assessment of needs of rural communities.

The owner of any property that receives asbestos or lead paint abatement, the costs of which abatement are paid in full or in part by grant money from the pilot grant program, is ineligible to apply for a no action determination concerning the property. A local government that receives a grant from the pilot grant program must either acquire any necessary permits from the air pollution control division before commencing asbestos or lead paint abatement or require any person that proceeds with asbestos or lead paint abatement on behalf of the local government to first acquire such permits.

The bill creates the rural housing and development asbestos and lead paint abatement fund (fund) in the state treasury. The fund consists of money generated from penalties and fines collected in association with violations of laws concerning hazardous materials in an amount up to $200,000 for the 2025-26 state fiscal year and up to $200,000 for the 2026-27 state fiscal year. and The fund may also include any other money that the general assembly may appropriate or transfer to the fund. The department may expend money in the fund to award grants.

The pilot grant program and the fund are repealed, effective July 1, 2027.

(Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.)

(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)