Introduced in the House of Representatives as HR 5040 in 2002 and reintroduced in 2005 as HR 1269, the federal mold legislation act known as the Melina Bill seems to have vanished from the House floor for the time being. But for how long will the federal government remain quiet about mold regulation?
The bill was originally introduced after Michigan Representative John Conyers became aware of the severity of toxic mold poisoning from his staff assistant whose 9-year-old daughter, Melina, lost 70 percent of her lung capacity a short time after moving into a mold infested home.
The bill attracted a large constituency before it was even introduced. Conyer’s office was flooded with hundreds of letters from home owners who had unwittingly bought homes contaminated by hazardous levels of mold growth and found they had no protection under law. Conyer’s also received an online petition with 40,000 signatures in favor of federal mold regulation.
If passed, the resolution would allow for the research and effects of mold in order to create standards for preventing, detecting, and remediating indoor mold. It would also include mold-related provisions for selling or leasing real property (including required inspections from landlords), grants for remediating mold in public buildings, a tax credit for mold inspection (up to $50,000 annually), and would create a national mold hazard insurance program.
The current version of the Melina Bill was introduced in March 14 of 2005 and referred to a house subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity on April 11 but died as that session of Congress expired. The Melina Bill was previously introduced in both 2002 and 2003, where it also died in committee.
It remains to be seen whether Rep. Conyers, who is still serving in the House, will reintroduce the bill into the 111th Congress which began on January 3. Given the growing influence of mold in State legislation, it’s certainly possible that the federal government will take notice again. As late as July 2005, 37 states had introduced some form of mold legislation; up from 30 in 2004. Between 2004 and mid-2005, 108 pieces of mold legislation were introduced in some form.
Whether mandated by the federal or your state governments, it is likely that a day will come soon, if not already, when mold regulation is no longer just a good idea, but required by law.
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