New Jersey-2020-ACR103-Introduced

A Concurrent Resolution urging the President and Congress of the United States to enact the "Opportunity Zone Lead Remediation Impact Act of 2019."

Whereas, Lead negatively impacts thousands of American children each year and is a preventable occurrence; and

Whereas, Lead exposure is associated with health problems, poor academic performance, behavioral health problems, and can occur through exposure to air, drinking water, food, contaminated soil, and paint; and

Whereas, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has declared that there is no safe level of lead, as even low-level exposure can have a long-term, negative impact on children; and

Whereas, The American Academy of Pediatrics has described lead exposure as "a causal risk factor for diminished intellectual and academic abilities, higher rates of neurobehavioral disorders such as hyperactivity and attention deficits, and lower birth weight in children"; and

Whereas, The CDC has found that roughly 23 million housing units, with most units built prior to 1960, have one or more lead-based paint hazards, where young children under age six are endangered by chipping or peeling lead paint or excessive amounts of lead-contaminated dust; and

Whereas, According to the CDC, there were over 88,000 new cases of lead poisoning in the United States in 2016; and

Whereas, Historically, the federal government has had a role in correcting home health hazards to support the provision of decent, safe, and sanitary housing for families in the United States; and

Whereas, The "Opportunity Zone Lead Remediation Impact Act of 2019," (H.R. 4011), requires all pre-1978 residential properties that are rehabilitated, repaired, or redeveloped through investment supported by opportunity zone tax benefits to receive lead risk assessments and remediation, and that developers who invest in opportunity zones donate at least two percent of amounts invested into a lead hazard remediation fund; and

Whereas, An opportunity zone is an economically-distressed community where new investments, under certain conditions, may be eligible for preferential tax treatment; and

Whereas, The enactment of the "Opportunity Zone Lead Remediation Impact Act of 2019" would protect children and families by ridding struggling communities of lead; now, therefore,

Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey (the Senate concurring):

1. The President of the United States and Congress are urged to enact the "Opportunity Zone Lead Remediation Impact Act of 2019" to protect children and families would protect children and families by ridding struggling communities of lead.

2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General Assembly or the Secretary of the Senate to the President of the United States and every member of the New Jersey Congressional delegation.

STATEMENT

This resolution urges the President and Congress to enact the "Opportunity Zone Lead Remediation Impact Act of 2019" (act).

Lead negatively impacts thousands of American children each year and is a preventable occurrence. Lead exposure is associated with health problems, poor academic performance, behavioral health problems, and can occur through exposure to air, drinking water, food, contaminated soil, and paint. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has declared that there is no safe level of lead, as even low-level exposure can have a long-term, negative impact on children. The CDC has found that roughly 23 million housing units, with most units built prior to 1960, have one or more lead-based paint hazards, where young children under age six are endangered by chipping or peeling lead paint or excessive amounts of lead-contaminated dust. According to the CDC, there were over 88,000 new cases of lead poisoning in the United States in 2016.

The act requires all pre-1978 residential properties that are rehabilitated, repaired, or redeveloped through investment supported by opportunity zone tax benefits to receive lead risk assessments and remediation, and that developers who invest in opportunity zones donate at least two percent of amounts invested into a lead hazard remediation fund. An opportunity zone is an economically-distressed community where new investments, under certain conditions, may be eligible for preferential tax treatment.