HEALTH PROTECTION
House Bill 4550
Sponsor: Rep. Liz Brater
Committee: Agriculture and Resource
Management
Complete to 5-11-00
A SUMMARY OF HOUSE BILL 4550 AS INTRODUCED 4-22-99
The bill would add a new part (Part 221 Children's Health) to the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act (NREPA) to establish an Office of Children's Health in the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). The office would be required to do all of the following:
(1) Review legislation proposed by the department to determine whether it adequately protected the health of children. (The bill would define "children" to mean "individuals under the age of 18" and "protect the health of children" to mean "to protect the health of children taking into account the special vulnerability of children because of their developing physiology, behavior, and intake of air, water, and food.") The DEQ could not propose legislation unless it had submitted the proposed legislation to the Office of Children's Health, and the office had certified that the proposed legislation protected the health of children.
(2) Review statutes and rules administered by the department to determine whether they adequately protected the health of children. The office would have to conduct the review in order of priority based on which environmental exposures had the greatest potential to adversely affect the health of children.
(3) Review, at the request of the DEQ or of a member of the public, applications for permits submitted to the department under Parts 31 (Water Resources Protection), 55 (Air Pollution Control), 111 (Hazardous Waste Management), or 115 (Solid Waste Management). The review would have to determine the potential impacts of the proposed permits on the health of children, and, based on the review, the office would have to provide recommendations to the DEQ on measures which would avoid or minimize adverse impacts on the health of children.
(4) Report annually to the governor and the legislature on the effects of pollution on the health of children of Michigan. The report would have to include both (a) baseline data and annual updates on the health of children as affected by pollution, and (b) the office's recommendations on policies, rules, and laws needed to protect the health of children.
(5) Review and coordinate existing research concerning the relationship between exposure to pollution and children's health.
(6) In conjunction with the Department of Community Health, develop and update biennially a research agenda to address unresolved scientific concerns about the relationship between exposure to pollution and children's health.
(7) Develop and coordinate a public education program to make parents, guardians, and other caregivers aware of the potential health effects to children caused by exposure to pollution and of recommendations to minimize such exposure.
If, based on existing research, the office were unable to make a determination under the first three duties listed above, the office would be required to identify and propose additional research necessary for it to make the required determination.
MCL 324.22101 and 324.22102
Analyst: S. Ekstrom