Senate Bill No. 32
(By Senators Hunter, Rowe, Redd, Burnette and Caldwell)
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[Introduced January 9, 2002; referred to the Committee
on Education; and the to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section three, article nine-e,
chapter eighteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to air
quality in new schools; and requiring process for
commissioning new schools prior to occupancy.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section three, article nine-e, chapter eighteen of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 9E. AIR QUALITY IN NEW SCHOOLS ACT.
§18-9E-3. Air quality in new schools.
(a) In an effort to create well-ventilated school
environments, and notwithstanding any other provision of this
code to the contrary, any new school building designed and constructed in the state by a county board, regardless of the
funding source, shall be designed and constructed in compliance
with the current standards of the American society of heating,
refrigerating and air conditioning engineers handbook (ASHRAE),
the national fire protection association code (NFPA) and the
code of the building officials and code administrators (BOCA).
(b) Upon notice from the school building authority that a
new public school building is occupied, the division of health
shall perform radon testing in the school within the first year
after occupancy and at least every five years thereafter. The
county school board shall provide such reasonable assistance to
the division of health as may be necessary to perform the radon
testing. The radon testing shall include all major student
occupied areas at or below grade level. If it is determined
that radon is present in amounts greater than the amount
determined to be acceptable by the rules promulgated by the
school building authority, pursuant to subsection (d) of this
section, any industry accepted mitigation technique shall be
utilized to reduce the radon level to the level or below the
level determined acceptable by the school building authority.
(c) If the school building authority determines that it is
feasible to test for radon prior to the construction of a school
building, the school building authority may cause preconstruction site testing for radon to be performed.
(d) The school building authority shall promulgate rules
pursuant to article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code
to assure that any new school building designed after the
effective date of this article is designed and constructed in
accordance with the current ASHRAE, NFPA and BOCA standards.
The school building authority shall promulgate rules, pursuant
to article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code that
establish standards for safe levels of radon for public school
buildings. The rules shall include the requirement that county
boards submit all new school designs to the school building
authority for review and approval for compliance with current
education standards and design efficiencies prior to preparation
of final bid documents.
(e) On or before the first day of January, two thousand
three, the school building authority shall promulgate rules
pursuant to article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code
to establish a process for commissioning any new school
buildings prior to occupancy. The process for commissioning
shall be consistent with current ASHRAE standards and shall
include, but not be limited to the following:
(1) A process to ensure that all systems in the building,
including, but not limited to, the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system have been installed in the prescribed
manner and will operate within the performance guidelines;
(2) Ensure that sufficient documentation is provided to the
owner to facilitate control and maintenance of the systems;
(3) Ensure that sufficient training is provided to those who
will operate and maintain the systems; and
(4) Certification of successful completing of commissioning
by an unbiased commissioning agent.
(e) (f) The state board shall promulgate rules, pursuant to
article three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, in
consultation with the division of health, that authorize the use
of any appropriate floor covering in public school buildings,
based on user needs and performance specifications. The state
board shall submit the rules to the legislative oversight
commission on education accountability on or before the first
day of July, two thousand.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require the school
building authority to promulgate rules to establish a process
for commissioning new school buildings prior to occupancy. The
process is to be consistent with current standards of the
American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning
Engineers.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.
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