Today the state Senate and Assembly passed two housing bills (SB 294/AB 265 and SB 297/AB267) that will help improve the safety of existing single-family homes and buildings being converted into housing.
The bills allow property owners to apply for loans that can be used to remediate lead paint, lead plumbing, abate asbestos, and address other environmental contamination. “Lead poisoning is a 100% preventable cause of intellectual and developmental disabilities, and lead paint is the number one source of lead poisoning,” said Beth Swedeen, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Board for People with Developmental Disabilities. “These bills are important steps towards making more housing safer. Every Wisconsin county has children poisoned by lead.”
Lead paint is a problem in all 72 Wisconsin counties and estimated to be present in 750K units of old stock housing, including rental properties, farmhouses, and single-family homes. More than 50% of homes built before 1978, 76% of homes built before 1960, and 86% of homes built before 1940 have some lead-based paint.
Fixing housing is the primary way to protect children from exposure to lead.
