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SB 89

AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- 2021 ACT ON CLIMATE

2025 Regular Session Introduced by John Burke and 5 co-sponsors

SB 89 requires schools and child care centers to install certified filtered drinking water outlets, run annual lead testing, and maintain plans to reduce lead exposure.

01/31/2025 Introduced, referred to Senate Environment and Agriculture
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Bill Summary · SB 89

Summary — SB 89: Clean Drinking Water Access Act (schools & child care centers)

Status: Introduced Jan 22, 2025; referred to Natural Resources / Energy & Environment committee (various versions reported).
Primary subject areas: school districts; child care; children’s health; water quality standards.

Purpose

SB 89 (the "Clean Drinking Water Access Act") requires public and nonpublic schools and child care centers to adopt and implement drinking water management plans, install certified filtered water outlets for human consumption, and carry out routine sampling/testing and filter maintenance to reduce lead exposure and improve drinking water quality for children.

Key provisions

  • Drinking water management plans

    • Each school must develop a plan within 15 months of the Act’s effective date (child care centers within 15 months to 2 years depending on provision), make it available to regulators, staff and parents, and review/update at least every 5 years.
    • Plans must identify each water outlet as: (a) filtered bottle‑filling station, (b) filtered faucet (only if bottle‑filling not feasible), (c) non‑consumption outlet, or (d) shut off/inoperable.

  • Filter specifications and placement

    • Filtered outlets must meet NSF/ANSI standards (53 for lead reduction; 42 for particulate removal) and include cartridge replacement indicators.
    • Requirement example: at least one filtered bottle‑filling station per 100 building occupants (excludes visitors); filtered faucets allowed only where stations aren’t feasible.

  • Sampling, testing, and response thresholds

    • Annual water sampling and testing of filtered outlets; samples collected after ≥8 hours stagnation in 250 mL bottles.
    • If lead detected at 1–5 parts per billion (ppb): check/replace filter, resample, notify and consult with state agency/manufacturer as required.
    • If lead >5 ppb: immediately shut off outlet, post signage, replace filter, resample; if still >5 ppb, notify parents and state agency within 30 days and develop a remediation plan with the state.

  • Oversight, training and inspections

    • State environmental agency (EGLE or equivalent) administers the school program, provides plan templates, guidance, and annual training for staff; child care oversight assigned to licensing agency (LARA) and local health departments with inspections at least every two years (in reported versions).
    • Records of sampling/testing and maintenance must be retained and made available to regulators and parents (committee versions require retention—e.g., three years).

  • Financing

    • Creates a School and Child Care Center Clean Drinking Water Fund to support equipment acquisition, installation, maintenance, sampling, and state administration.
    • Compliance is conditional on legislative appropriation — schools are not required to comply until the Legislature provides funding.

Who is affected

  • Directly: public and nonpublic K–12 schools, licensed child care centers, school district facilities managers, child care operators.
  • Indirectly: students and children, parents/guardians, local health departments, state agencies (EGLE, LARA), equipment manufacturers/installers, school/local budgets.

Estimated costs & fiscal impact (from committee/fiscal analyses)

  • One-time installation (estimated): roughly $58 million statewide for schools; $20–30 million for child care centers — combined estimate $78–88 million (may be lower if many outlets already replaced or bulk purchases reduce unit cost).
  • Annual sampling/testing: estimated $3–5 million/year.
  • State administrative and program costs: indeterminate; agencies expect minor to moderate administrative workload and training duties; program implementation contingent on appropriation.

Implementation timeline (key dates from bill language / committee reports)

  • Plans due: within 15 months after the Act’s effective date.
  • Installation deadline for schools (reported versions): by end of the 2024–2025 school year (or within specified period after funding).
  • Child care conversion: within two years (per reported substitute language).
  • Annual testing and ongoing maintenance thereafter.

Procedural / other notes

  • Several versions and companion bills (e.g., SB 88) exist; language has varied across committee substitutes. The bill is tie‑barred in some versions to companion child care legislation.
  • The requirement that schools/centers comply is tied to appropriation language; if funding is not provided, compliance may not be required.
  • Agencies would publish templates and provide technical assistance; enforcement and reporting obligations to state agencies are included.

If you want, I can:
- Produce a one‑page checklist schools/child care centers would use to comply; or
- Extract and compare the final operative deadlines, record‑retention periods and agency roles across the bill versions.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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