AB 2803: Public nuisance: residential lead-based paint.

Session Year: 2017-2018
House: Assembly

Version:

Existing law establishes an action for a public nuisance, which affects an entire community or neighborhood, or a considerable number of persons, although the extent of the annoyance or damage inflicted upon individuals may be unequal. Existing law authorizes a private party or a public body to bring an action to abate a public nuisance.

This bill would provide that residential lead-based paint that affects the health of a considerable number of persons constitutes a public nuisance. Under the bill, a party may be subject to liability for public nuisance if that party promoted lead-based paint for a particular use with actual or constructive knowledge that such use would cause health hazards sufficiently serious to render that use unreasonable, as specified. The bill would provide that, in an action seeking solely abatement of residential lead-based paint, causation may be established without presenting evidence that a particular party caused a particular lead-based paint to be applied in a particular residence, as specified.

The bill would provide legislative findings and declarations in support of these provisions.

Existing law, the Carpenter-Presley-Tanner Hazardous Substance Account Act, imposes liability for hazardous substances removal or remedial actions and requires the Attorney General to recover from the liable person, as defined, certain costs incurred by the Department of Toxic Substances Control or a California regional water quality control board, upon the request of the department or regional board. The act authorizes a party found liable for any costs or expenditures recoverable under the act for those actions to establish, as specified, that only a portion of those costs or expenditures are attributable to the party, and requires the party to pay only for that portion. If each party does not establish its liability, the act requires a court to apportion those costs or expenditures, as specified, among the defendants, and the remaining portion of the judgment is required to be paid from the Toxic Substances Control Account. Existing law authorizes the money deposited in the Toxic Substances Control Account in the General Fund to be appropriated to the Department of Toxic Substances Control for specified purposes, including the payment of the costs incurred by the state for those actions.This bill would define hazardous substance for purposes of the act to include lead-based paint that is bioavailable. The bill would, for a residential property contaminated with lead-based paint that is bioavailable, exclude from the definition of responsible party or liable person owners and former owners of the property for purposes of the act.

Discussed in Hearing