In response to the National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) and affiliated trade group’s concerns new legislation was recently introduced by Reps. John Sullivan (R-Okla.), Tim Murphy (R-Pa.) and a bipartisan list of original co-sponsors to make much-needed improvements to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Lead: Repair, Renovation and Painting (LRRP) rule.

The H.R. 5911, the Lead Exposure Reduction Amendments Act of 2012, was unveiled earlier this year in the Senate by Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and five other cosponsors. This new legislation would help homeowners and remodelers to better comply with the costly work practices and record keeping requirements of the LRRP rule without compromising safety standards.

Additional co-sponsors include Reps. Leonard Boswell (D-Iowa), Aaron Schock (R-Ill.), Billy Long (R-Mo.), Kristi Noem (R-S.D.), Frank Lucas (R-Okla.), Dan Boren (D-Okla.), Tom Cole (R-Okla.) and James Lankford (R-Okla.).

Effective on April 22, 2010, the LRRP rule requires contractors and remodelers working in homes built before 1978 to be trained and certified by the EPA on lead-safe work practices.

The EPA removed the “opt-out” provision in the LRRP three months later. The removed provision allowed remodelers working in a home built prior to 1978 to forego more expensive work practices according to the owner’s wish if no children under the age of six or pregnant women resided By removing the opt-out provision, the EPA more than doubled the number of homes subject to the LRRP, which costs the remodeling community an estimated $336 million per year.

The EPA was also unable to approve a test kit that meets the “false positive” and “false negative” criteria stated in the regulation. By failing to perform a study of lead exposure rates from work on commercial and public buildings, the agency exceeded its congressional mandate by starting the process of extending the LRRP to those structures through an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.

For additional information about lead paint rule enforcement and compliance, visit www.nahb.org/leadpaint. For more information on real estate legislation, visit Atlanta Real Estate Forum.