§ 42-128.1-6 - Education.
SECTION 42-128.1-6
§ 42-128.1-6 Education. – (a) In order to achieve the purposes of this chapter, a statewide,multifaceted, ongoing educational program designed to meet the needs oftenants, property owners, realtors and real estate agents, insurers andinsurance agents, local building officials, and health providers and caregiversis hereby established.
(b) The governor, in conjunction with the department ofhealth and the housing resources commission, shall sponsor a series of publicservice announcements on radio, television, and print media about the nature oflead hazards, the importance of lead hazard control and mitigation, and thepurposes and responsibilities set forth in this chapter. In developing andcoordinating this public information initiative the sponsors shall seek theparticipation and involvement of private industry organizations, includingthose involved in real estate, insurance, mortgage banking, and pediatrics.
(c) Within sixty (60) days after the regulations set forth in§ 42-128.1-7 for lead hazard control and mitigation go into effect, thehousing resources commission in conjunction with the department of health shall:
(1) Create culturally and linguistically appropriate materialoutlining the rights and responsibilities of parties affected by this chapter;
(2) Establish guidelines and a trainer's manual for a notmore than three (3) hours lead hazard control awareness seminar for rentalproperty owners or designated persons, which shall be forwarded to all publicand private colleges and universities in Rhode Island, to other professionaltraining facilities, and to professional associations and communityorganizations with a training capacity, with the stipulation this seminar beoffered for a maximum fee of fifty dollars ($50.00) per participant. Thehousing resources commission shall approve the proposals to offer the seminarfrom institutions, provided those proposals are consistent with the guidelines.An electronic version of this awareness seminar shall be created and approvedby the housing resources commission for computer Internet access. Saidawareness seminar shall also be produced and made available in both VHS and DVDformat for rental or purchase at a reasonable cost not to exceed five dollars($5.00) for the rental version and fifteen dollars ($15.00) for the purchasedversion. Said seminar shall be available to tenants, property owners and otherinterested parties.
(3) Adopt rules for the dissemination of information aboutthe requirements of this chapter to all prospective owners of pre-1978dwellings during the real estate transaction, settlement, or closing;
(4) Solicit requests, to the extent that these partnershipsare not already established, to enter into ongoing, funded partnerships, toprovide specific counseling information services to tenants and affectedparties on their rights and responsibilities with regard to lead hazards andlead poisoning.
(d) The department of business regulation shall, with regardto its responsibilities for the profession of real estate brokers andsalespersons, adopt rules, with the concurrence of the housing resourcescommission and the department of health which shall be effective not later thanJune 30, 2004: (1) requiring proof of reasonable familiarity with the knowledgeof duties and responsibilities under the provisions of the Lead PoisoningPrevention Act, chapter 24.6 of title 23, and this chapter, for the licensureor renewal of licenses of real estate brokers and salespersons in accordancewith § 5-20.5-6 after July 1, 2004; and (2) providing, pursuant to §5-20.5-18, an educational program for real estate brokers and salespersonsregarding such duties and responsibilities.
(e) The housing resources commission, in conjunction with thedepartment of health, is hereby authorized to develop, offer, engage in,contract for and/or provide any other educational or informational programsthat they may deem necessary to accomplish the purposes of this chapter,including, but not limited to: programs to assist families to find housing thatis lead free, lead safe or lead hazard mitigated or abated; to train leadhazard mitigation inspectors and local building officials and persons engagedin renovating and/or improving housing about controlling or mitigating leadhazards in pre-1978 housing. Said programs shall provide information about leadhazard mitigation requirements at retail hardware and paint stores andhome-improvement centers, including, as a minimum, signs of sufficient sizewith large enough lettering to be easily seen and read, which contains thefollowing language:
WARNING
Use of abrasive material (sandpaper, steel wool, drill disksand pads, etc.) in your home to remove paint may increase the risk of childhoodlead poisoning. For more information please contact the Rhode Island housingresources commission or department of health.