Senate Finance committee approves amendment delaying PCB school-testing deadline to 2035

The Senate Finance Committee voted to approve an amendment to S.542 that delays the requirement for indoor-air testing for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in schools built or renovated before 1980. Michael Grady, counsel presenting the amendment, said the compliance deadline had been moved to August 1, 2035 to accommodate testing schedules and stakeholder requests.

Grady told the committee the attorney general requested clarifying language so the state could recover mitigation costs, including attorney fees, for PCB contamination remediation. The amendment also corrects a scrivener’s error identified in committee drafting.

Senator Chipman moved that the committee approve S.542 as amended (draft 1.2 dated 05/14). After brief discussion the committee voted to report the amendment favorably; the clerk recorded the vote as 6 ayes, 0 nays, 1 absent. Committee members noted the change was technical and intended to give districts additional time while preserving the state’s ability to recover costs where appropriate.

The committee expects the amended bill and the committee report to be prepared for the floor; staff will finalize the amendment language for the record.