AUGUSTA - The Legislature's Committee on Health and Human Services voted unanimously Wednesday to advance LD 11, sponsored by Rep. Kristen Cloutier, D-Lewiston, which would help protect children and families from lead hazards in their homes. Additionally, the Legislature's Housing Committee voted last week with unanimous support to move forward LD 470, also sponsored by Cloutier, which would appropriate $1 million to MaineHousing's lead abatement program.
Together, these two bills will continue to fund MaineHousing's lead abatement program and help temporarily relocate families that are living in homes with identified lead hazards until those lead hazards are abated, ensuring that communities like Lewiston continue to get the support they need.
"Maine's housing stock is incredibly old, with more than half of homes around the state potentially having lead paint," said Cloutier. "Our child lead poisoning rates have improved over the years thanks to the efforts of local and state-level remediation and abatement projects. With this additional funding of $1 million, along with a program in place that will temporarily rehouse families while their homes are being treated, we will see continued improvements."
According to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Maine Tracking Network, Lewiston has the second highest rate of children with lead poisoning among seven high-risk towns across Maine.
"LD 11 further protects Maine children from lead exposure in their homes until the necessary abatement is conducted," said Nancy Beardsley, acting director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. "The Maine CDC's Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program works to help keep Maine children safe from lead, and we're grateful to Representative Cloutier for helping advance these priorities to provide additional safeguards from childhood lead exposure."
"The legacy of lead in Maine's housing stock is tragic, but there are positive ways to solve the problem," said Erik Jorgensen, senior director of government affairs and communications at MaineHousing. "Representative Cloutier's bill offers a path to assure that this critical work will continue to be there for Maines kids".
The bills face further votes in the House and Senate in the coming weeks.
Cloutier is the assistant House majority leader and is currently serving her third term in the Maine House of Representatives. She represents House District 94, which includes part of her hometown of Lewiston.
Contact:
Brian Lee [Cloutier], 305-965-2744