Skip to main content
S 2870Public Health

Health and Safety - Lead Poisoning Prevention Act

Mandates child lead tests be processed by RI-incorporated labs and requires these tests be provided at no cost to families.

Signed into law63 Yea0 Nay12 Not voting
Population
Affected
15
Email Legislator
Introduced Mar 4, 2026Committee Senate Health & Human Services

Plain-English Summary

This legislation amends the Lead Poisoning Prevention Act to change how and where blood lead screenings for children are processed. It requires that all blood samples taken from children under six years of age be sent for analysis to either the state laboratory or a clinical laboratory that is operated by a company incorporated specifically in Rhode Island. Additionally, the bill mandates that these laboratories perform the analysis regardless of the family's ability to pay and explicitly prohibits charging the child or their parents for the test.

For younger readers

This law is about keeping young children safe from lead, which is something that can make them very sick. Doctors usually take a small drop of blood to check if a child has lead in their body. This new rule says that doctors must send that blood to a science lab that is part of a company based right here in Rhode Island. Also, the law says the lab cannot charge the moms or dads any money for this test, so every child can get checked even if their family doesn't have money.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups
Children under sixParents and guardiansClinical laboratoriesPhysiciansHealthcare facilities
Impacted communities
All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

High risk

The requirement that samples be sent only to laboratories "operated by an entity incorporated in the State of Rhode Island" poses a significant risk under the Dormant Commerce Clause. This provision explicitly discriminates against out-of-state laboratories, restricting interstate commerce. Unless the state can prove this local benefit outweighs the burden on interstate commerce and that no non-discriminatory alternatives exist, this section is vulnerable to legal challenge.

Estimated cost
None
Estimated revenue
None

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints
For Progressives
  • Guarantees that financial barriers do not prevent access to essential health screenings by mandating that lead tests be provided at no cost to the patient.
  • Promotes health equity by ensuring that all children under six, regardless of their family's socioeconomic status or ability to pay, receive the same standard of preventative care.
  • Supports the local economy and potentially strengthens local labor standards by requiring testing to be performed by entities incorporated within Rhode Island.
  • Create an unfunded mandate for private laboratories, which could strain the resources of local healthcare facilities without state financial support.
  • Limiting testing to only Rhode Island-incorporated entities could reduce the overall testing capacity, potentially leading to delays in results for vulnerable children.
  • Restricting the market to local corporations might inadvertently protect local monopolies rather than prioritizing the most efficient or highest quality testing available regionally.
For Conservatives
  • Protects local Rhode Island businesses by preventing out-of-state corporations comprising the testing market, enforcing a "Rhode Island First" economic approach.
  • Ensures that sensitive health data regarding Rhode Island children remains within the jurisdiction and oversight of state-based entities.
  • Focuses on a specific, high-risk public health issue (lead poisoning) rather than creating a broad, undefined entitlement program.
  • Imposes significant government overreach by forcing private businesses to provide services for free, violating free market principles and property rights.
  • Interferes with the free market and potentially interstate commerce by banning healthcare providers from using laboratories not incorporated in Rhode Island.
  • Creates a hidden tax on the healthcare industry by mandating services without providing funding, which may result in cost-shifting to other paying customers.

Votes

Loading votes...

Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 12 additions

SECTION 1. Sections 23-24.6-7 and 23-24.6-21 of the General Laws in Chapter 23-24.6 entitled "Lead Poisoning Prevention Act" are hereby amended to read as follows: 23-24.6-7. Screening by health care providers.

(a) The department shall promulgate regulations establishing the means by which and the intervals at which children under six (6) years of age shall be screened for lead poisoning. The department is also authorized to require screening for lead poisoning in other high risk groups.

(b) Each physician registered or licensed by Rhode Island or any agency of Rhode Island shall screen children under six (6) years of age for lead poisoning at the intervals and using the methods specified in the regulations adopted pursuant to subsection (a). Each licensed, registered or approved health care facility serving children under six (6) years of age, including but not limited to hospitals, clinics, and health maintenance organizations, shall take appropriate steps to ensure that their patients receive screening for lead poisoning at the intervals and using the methods specified in these regulations.

(c) All health care programs funded in whole or in part with state money and having child health components shall include, require, and/or provide for screening children under six (6) years of age for lead poisoning at the intervals and using the methods specified in the regulations promulgated under this section.

(d) The provisions of this section shall not apply if the parents of the child object to the child undergoing blood lead screening on the grounds that the screening conflicts with their religious tenets and practices.

(e) All blood samples taken by physicians or other health care providers licensed in Rhode Island or by licensed, registered, or approved health care facilities in Rhode Island from children under the age of six (6) years for the purpose of screening for blood lead level shall be sent to either the state laboratory in the department of health or a clinical laboratory, as defined in chapter 16.2 of this title, that is operated by an entity incorporated in the State of Rhode Island, for laboratory analysis.

(f) The department shall, at least annually, analyze and summarize all of the lead screening information provided by physicians, health care facilities, and laboratories and provide this information to all other local and state agencies involved with case management and lead hazard reduction. An analysis and summary of the data shall also be made available, at least annually, to the health care community, to the general assembly, and the general public in a format that is easily understandable to non-technical readers. 23-24.6-21. Laboratory testing and reporting requirement certification.

(a) Laboratory analyses of all clinical and environmental media samples collected to demonstrate compliance with this chapter or with regulations promulgated pursuant to this chapter shall only be conducted by a laboratory which has been licensed or certified (as appropriate) by the director pursuant to chapter 16.2 of this title entitled “Laboratories.” Licensed laboratories performing blood lead analyses taken from children under six (6) years of age shall be certified by the director in accordance with a process approved by the director.

(b) All laboratories performing blood lead analyses on samples taken from children under six (6) years of age shall report the results of such analyses to the department in accordance with regulations promulgated by the department.

(c) All laboratories performing blood lead analyses on samples taken from children under six (6) years of age shall perform blood lead analyses on children under six (6) years of age regardless of the child or child’s parent or guardian’s ability to pay for the analysis and at no cost to the child or child’s parent or guardian.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.