HB 341 — An Act amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known as the Public School Code of 1949, in grounds and buildings, providing for certified point-of-use filter required; establishing the Safe Schools Drinking Water Fund; and making an interfund transfer.

PRINTER'S NO.   296

                     THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA



                         HOUSE BILL
                         No. 341
                                               Session of
                                                 2025

     INTRODUCED BY GREEN, KHAN, SANCHEZ, McNEILL, PROBST, PIELLI,
        KAZEEM, WAXMAN, GIRAL, GUENST, HOWARD, CEPEDA-FREYTIZ,
        CIRESI, HOHENSTEIN, SCHLOSSBERG, MALAGARI, HILL-EVANS, OTTEN,
        HARKINS AND O'MARA, JANUARY 27, 2025

     REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, JANUARY 27, 2025


                                    AN ACT
 1   Amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), entitled "An
 2      act relating to the public school system, including certain
 3      provisions applicable as well to private and parochial
 4      schools; amending, revising, consolidating and changing the
 5      laws relating thereto," in grounds and buildings, providing
 6      for certified point-of-use filter required; establishing the
 7      Safe Schools Drinking Water Fund; and making an interfund
 8      transfer.
 9      The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
10   hereby enacts as follows:
11      Section 1.    The act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known
12   as the Public School Code of 1949, is amended by adding a
13   section to read:
14      Section 743.    Certified Point-of-Use Filter Required.--(a)
15   By January 1, 2027, each school entity shall:
16      (1)   Ensure that all drinking water outlets in each school
17   building within the school entity are equipped with certified
18   point-of-use filters.
19      (2)   Remove and replace existing drinking water fountains
20   without certified point-of-use filters with bottle-filling
 1   stations or drinking fountains equipped with certified point-of-
 2   use filters at the rate of at least one (1) per one hundred
 3   (100) students and staff.
 4      (3)    Set up a filter maintenance and oversight schedule for
 5   all certified point-of-use filters installed under this
 6   subsection. The school entity shall follow the manufacturer's
 7   recommended maintenance and replacement protocols for all
 8   equipment and certified point-of-use filters installed under
 9   this subsection.
10      (4)    Ensure that all new drinking water outlets purchased for
11   installation at a school building do not leach more than one (1)
12   microgram of lead for test statistic Q or R, when normalized for
13   a first draw sample up to or equal to one (1) liter in volume,
14   as calculated in accordance with 2020 NSF International Standard
15   61, which became effective in 2020, and certified by an American
16   National Standards Institute-accredited third party.
17      (b)    To comply with the provisions of subsection (a), a
18   school entity may:
19      (1)    Seek the assistance of a local board of health or a
20   public water system.
21      (2)    Apply for a grant under subsection (c).
22      (c)    The department shall develop a grant program for
23   eligible school entities as provided under this subsection. The
24   following shall apply:
25      (1)    A grant award shall be used for:
26      (i)    The installation of certified point-of-use filters on
27   drinking water outlets.
28      (ii)    The replacement of drinking water fountains with
29   bottle-filling stations or drinking fountains equipped with
30   certified point-of-use filters.

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 1      (2)    Within three (3) months of the effective date of this
 2   paragraph, the department shall issue guidelines on the grant
 3   program under this subsection and develop and make available an
 4   application for grant funding on the department's publicly
 5   accessible Internet website.
 6      (3)    The following shall receive preference for a grant
 7   under this subsection:
 8      (i)    School buildings built before 2014.
 9      (ii)    School buildings that include students in
10   prekindergarten.
11      (4)    Each school entity:
12      (i)    Applying for a grant under this subsection shall submit
13   the following information with the application:
14      (A)    The number of existing drinking water outlets with lead-
15   filtering systems within each respective school building for
16   which the school entity is applying for funding.
17      (B)    The number of drinking water outlets without lead-
18   filtering systems within each respective school building for
19   which the school entity is applying for funding.
20      (C)    The number of students and staff enrolled or employed in
21   each respective school building for which the school entity is
22   applying for funding at the time of application.
23      (ii)    Awarded a grant under this subsection shall maintain
24   and post the information submitted to the department under
25   subparagraph (i) on the school entity's publicly accessible
26   Internet website.
27      (iii)    Shall:
28      (A)    Designate an employe to serve as the contact person for
29   communications with the department and the public regarding the
30   certified point-of-use filter installation and shall post the

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 1   contact information of the designated employe on the school
 2   entity's publicly accessible Internet website.
 3      (B)    Post on the school entity's publicly accessible Internet
 4   website information on the public health effects and risks posed
 5   by lead in drinking water and information on the availability of
 6   additional resources concerning lead in drinking water, as
 7   outlined in the technical guidance under subsection (f).
 8      (C)    Publish at each drinking water outlet the maintenance
 9   schedule and log for installed certified point-of-use filters at
10   that drinking water outlet.
11      (D)    Post at every nondrinking water outlet "not for
12   drinking."
13      (5)    The following shall apply to school entities:
14      (i)    A school entity that receives a grant under this
15   subsection shall report back to the Department of Education and
16   Department of Environmental Protection within eighteen (18)
17   months that the work has been completed, which the Department of
18   Education shall post on the department's publicly accessible
19   Internet website.
20      (ii)    By August 1, 2025, each school entity shall submit a
21   report containing the school entity's plan to comply with this
22   section to the Department of Education and the Department of
23   Environmental Protection, which will post the report on their
24   respective publicly accessible Internet websites within sixty
25   (60) days of receiving the report.
26      (d)    The department may award up to ten million dollars
27   ($10,000,000) in grants each fiscal year for the three (3)
28   fiscal years following the effective date of this subsection.
29      (e)    The Safe Schools Drinking Water Fund is established as a
30   separate fund in the State Treasury. Money in the fund shall be

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 1   appropriated to the department on a continuing basis for the
 2   purpose of awarding grants under this section.
 3      (f)   The department shall develop technical guidance for
 4   standards and regular maintenance of bottle-filling stations or
 5   drinking fountains with certified point-of-use filters.
 6      (g)   The department, in consultation with the Department of
 7   Education and the Department of Health, shall promulgate rules
 8   and regulations necessary to implement this section.
 9      (h)   The department, the Department of Education and the
10   Department of Health shall share information, databases and
11   analyses and use risk assessment tools, data, mapping and any
12   other information that is available to the departments to ensure
13   that funding is targeted to school entities in this Commonwealth
14   with the most need to eliminate lead from school drinking water.
15      (i)   Nothing in this section shall be construed to place
16   additional requirements on a school entity that, prior to the
17   effective date of this subsection, has already taken measures
18   which, in the judgment of the department, permanently eliminate
19   the risk of elevated lead levels in the school entity's water at
20   all drinking water outlets.
21      (j)   For purposes of this section:
22      "Certified point-of-use filter" means a filter that includes
23   a light or other device to indicate filter replacement status
24   installed at the point where water is dispensed from an outlet
25   and is certified to the NSF/ANSI 53 standard for lead reduction
26   and NSF/ANSI 42 standard for particulate reduction (Class I) in
27   effect on the effective date of this section. The certification
28   body shall be accredited by the American National Standards
29   Institute National Accreditation Board.
30      "Department" means the Department of Environmental Protection

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 1   of the Commonwealth.
 2      "Drinking water outlet" means a drinking fountain, faucet,
 3   tap or other end point for delivery of water used for drinking
 4   or food preparation, including ice-making and hot drink
 5   machines.
 6      "Elevated lead level" means lead concentration levels in
 7   drinking water that exceed one part per billion.
 8      "Nondrinking water outlet" means a faucet, tap or other end
 9   point for delivery of water used for any purpose other than
10   drinking or food preparation.
11      "School building" shall mean a building owned by or under the
12   control of a school entity where classes are taught or
13   extracurricular activities are conducted on a regular basis.
14      "School entity" shall mean a school district, charter school,
15   cyber charter school, regional charter school, intermediate
16   unit, area career and technical school, private school or
17   nonpublic school.
18      Section 2.   The sum of $30,000,000 is transferred from the
19   General Fund to the Safe Schools Drinking Water Fund.
20      Section 3.   This act shall take effect in 60 days.




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