Congress to get first big mold bill; it already seems stuck

[Guest guest]

http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2002/07/01/story7.html

June 28, 2002

Mold Rush

Congress to get first big mold bill; it already seems stuck

Staff Writer

The experience of an 8-year-old Michigan girl who suffered asthma at home

has led her congressman to propose sweeping federal legislation to combat

mold.

Rep. Conyers Jr., a Michigan Democrat who employs the girl's mother,

was scheduled to unveil his proposed legislation Thursday. Known informally

as the Melina Bill, it would order research, professional standards for mold

removal workers, changes in construction methods, building inspections, and

the creation of a mold insurance pool.

But the ambitious bill might not go anywhere, at least not this session. So

say some observers, who have had little time to review Conyers' proposal --

or in some cases, little desire. The proposal is arriving late in the

session, they note, and pressing issues like terrorism are consuming the

attention of Capitol Hill.

Also, Conyers would have to find a member of the majority Republican Party

to take the lead role as sponsor.

Under Conyers' bill, rental properties would have to be inspected each year.

Mold hazards would have to be disclosed in residences being sold or rented.

Federally issued or insured mortgages would require mold inspections.

Furthermore, the bill would require states to maintain records of building

inspections, and it would create a national database of those inspections.

The bill would establish a national toxic mold insurance program for people

who wanted to buy insurance against losses resulting from toxic mold

hazards. Melina, the girl after whom the bill is named, got asthma at home.

Mold was blamed, and she and her mother soon moved out.

Critics have other complaints about the legislation besides its timing. They

say the U.S. Toxic Mold Safety and Protection Act of 2002, the bill's formal

name, would involve too many federal agencies and too many congressional

committees.

One provision would involve the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which

President Bush has proposed moving into his proposed Department of Homeland

Security, further complicating enactment of the Melina Bill.

Like others, Rochman, spokeswoman in Washington, D.C., for the

American Insurance Association, said there's little chance the bill could be

enacted this session given the lateness of this session. " It is a very

complex bill, " she said, " with a lot of moving parts. "

Copyright 2002 American City Business Journals Inc.