Legislation that would restore an opt-out clause to the Environmental Protection Agency’s rule on lead paint has been reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.).
The bill is identical to one that was introduced in the last Congress and is co-sponsored by 21 of the original sponsors. It seeks to soften the impact of the agency’s Lead Renovation, Repair, and Painting (RRP) rule affecting houses built before 1978 by allowing households without young children or pregnant women to opt out of the rule’s requirements.
According to NAHB, the bill also would allow remodelers to correct paperwork without the risk of full penalties, provide an exemption for emergency renovations, and ease requirements that remodelers take hands-on training for recertification.
NAHB says the number of houses affected by the rule doubled in 2010 when the EPA removed the opt-out provision, “adding an estimated $336 million per year in compliance costs to the remodeling community without making young children any safer.”
A similar measure was introduced in the Senate in March.
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