THE ONLY WAY TO KNOW WITH CERTAINTY WHETHER LEAD-BASED PAINT HAZARDS ARE PRESENT ON THE PROPERTY IS TO TEST THE PROPERTY FOR THE PRESENCE OF LEAD.

B.__The form must include the lessor's disclosure and the agent's disclosure as required by federal law.

C.__The form must include the lessee's acknowledgment as required by federal law and an acknowledgment that the lessee has received the property disclosure statement required by this section.__The form must include the following statement:__"This acknowledgment does not constitute a waiver of any rights."

D.__The form must include the certification of accuracy as required by federal law.

3.__Downloadable forms.__The department shall post and maintain the forms required by this section on the Internet in a format that is easily downloadable.

Sec. 7. 33 MRSA §173, sub-§4, ¶B, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 476, §1, is amended to read:

B. Lead-based paint for pre-1978 homes in accordance with federal regulations and Title 22, section 1328;

SUMMARY

This bill addresses lead poisoning from lead-based paint by imposing liability on a property owner whose failure to comply with the Lead Poisoning Control Act results in a child's lead poisoning. The liability is for all damages to a child under 6 years of age and is modeled on Massachusetts' lead control laws. The liability does not attach if the dwelling or premises were constructed in 1978 or later. The owner is also not liable if the dwelling or premises were certified as lead-free or lead-safe within the 12 months previous to the presence of the child, unless the owner was negligent in letting a lead hazard develop and in failing to promptly correct it.

This bill prohibits housing discrimination that occurs because the property does or may contain an environmental lead hazard for which liability for the lead poisoning of a child could be imposed.