In this subtitle the following words have the meanings indicated. “Advisory Council” means the Children’s Environmental Health and Protection Advisory Council. “Environmental hazard” means one or a group of toxic chemical, biological, or physical agents in the environment, resulting from human activities or natural processes, that may impact the health of exposed children, including such pollutants as lead, pesticides, air pollutants, contaminated drinking water, polluted waters, toxic waste, polychlorinated biphenyls, secondhand tobacco smoke, and industrial and home chemicals.

The General Assembly finds that: Children in the State face an array of preventable exposures to environmental hazards in their schools, homes, and communities; In certain cases children are at greater risk than adults for exposure to and possible illness from environmental hazards because children: Have a decreased ability to detoxify certain substances; Have a greater sensitivity to environmental hazards during the stages of development and growth as a result of their immature body organs and tissues and immature immune systems; Have different exposure behavior patterns, such as hand-to-mouth behavior, spending a greater amount of time outdoors near hazards, and spending more time on the floor and on the ground where contaminants can concentrate; and Take in a greater amount of contaminants due to their eating proportionately more food, breathing proportionately more air, and drinking proportionately more fluids than adults; Higher rates of poverty are one of the factors that place children of ethnic and minority communities at disproportionate risk for environmental exposures, due to inadequate housing, poor nutrition, and limited access to health care; Solutions to complex environmental health problems require the ongoing communication, collaboration, and cooperation of affected communities and many disciplines including science, medicine, public health, economics, planning, law, and policy; and As recommended by the Advisory Council on Environmental Justice in its report pursuant to Chapter 741 of the Acts of the General Assembly of 1997, as amended, it is necessary to assess the impacts of State policies, programs, and activities on affected communities and, in this instance, children are the affected community. The General Assembly recognizes its responsibilities: To enable all children to grow up in a safe and healthy environment; and To use its resources to ensure that every child is provided with an environmentally safe and healthy learning environment in which to grow, develop, and mature into a productive and healthy adult. The General Assembly seeks to meet these responsibilities by creating an Advisory Council to: Identify environmental hazards that may affect children’s health; and Recommend solutions to those hazards through interdisciplinary problem solving and coalition building.

There is a State Children’s Environmental Health and Protection Advisory Council.

The Advisory Council shall be composed of 19 members as follows: One member of the Senate of Maryland, appointed by the President of the Senate; One member of the House of Delegates, appointed by the Speaker of the House; The Secretary of Health, or the Secretary’s designee; The Secretary of the Environment, or the Secretary’s designee; The Secretary of Agriculture, or the Secretary’s designee; The Secretary of Education, or the Secretary’s designee; The Secretary of Human Services, or the Secretary’s designee; The Secretary of Housing and Community Development, or the Secretary’s designee; The Special Secretary of the Governor’s Office for Children, or the Special Secretary’s designee; Two licensed health care providers with expertise in the field of children’s environmental health, appointed by the Governor; One representative from an academic institution who has expertise in studying the impact of environmental exposures on childhood disease, appointed by the Governor; One parent or guardian whose child has been clinically diagnosed as having been exposed to environmental health hazards including lead paint or pesticides, appointed by the Governor; One epidemiologist with expertise in children’s environmental health, appointed by the Governor; One economist skilled in measuring the economic costs of illness and the benefits of prevention, appointed by the Governor; One environmental toxicologist with expertise in issues of importance to children’s environmental health, appointed by the Governor; One representative from the Maryland Association of Counties, appointed by the Governor; One individual from private industry representing the regulated community, appointed by the Governor; and One representative from the Maryland Commission on Environmental Justice and Sustainable Communities, appointed by the Governor. The Secretary of Health or the Secretary’s designee shall serve as the chairman. The Secretary of the Environment or the Secretary’s designee shall serve as the vice chairman. The term of a member is 4 years. The terms of the members are staggered as required by the terms provided for members of the Advisory Council on October 1, 2000. At the end of a term, a member continues to serve until a successor is appointed and qualifies. A member who is appointed after a term has begun serves only for the rest of the term and until a successor is appointed and qualifies.

A majority of the full authorized membership of the Advisory Council is a quorum. The Advisory Council shall meet at least six times a year, at the times and places that it determines. Each member of the Advisory Council is entitled to reimbursement for expenses under the Standard State Travel Regulations, as provided in the State budget. The Maryland Department of Health shall coordinate with the Department of the Environment and other State agencies to provide for staffing of the Advisory Council. The Advisory Council may employ consultants subject to the State budget. The Advisory Council may contract for an analysis of the current State organizational structure regarding children’s environmental health and protection. An analysis under this subsection shall be performed in a manner consistent with the recommendation of the Advisory Council on Environmental Justice contained in the Council’s report dated November 1999.

The Advisory Council shall: Review and comment on existing rules, regulations, and standards to ensure that the rules, regulations, and standards adequately protect the health of children from environmental hazards by taking into account the special vulnerability of children because of their developing physiology, and because their exposures, behaviors, and diets can differ greatly from those of adults; Review proposed regulations submitted to the Advisory Council in accordance with § 10–110 of the State Government Article to determine if the proposed regulation: Adequately protects the health of children from environmental hazards by taking into account the special vulnerability of children because of their developing physiology, and because their exposures, behaviors, and diets can differ greatly from those of adults; and Is consistent and uniform with the children’s environmental health policies, rules, regulations, and standards of other State agencies; and Recommend to the promulgating unit measures that would avoid or minimize any negative impact that the proposed regulation may have on the health of children; Comment on any proposed regulations that may be submitted by any other principal department of the Executive Branch, as enumerated in § 8–201 of the State Government Article, during the public comment period required under § 10–112(a)(3)(v) of the State Government Article if the Advisory Council determines that the proposed regulation will have an adverse impact on children’s health; Gather and disseminate information to the public, including the research and medical communities, community–based organizations, schools, and State agencies, on how to reduce, treat, and eliminate children’s exposures to environmental hazards to further the public’s understanding of the environmental hazards that may potentially affect children; Recommend uniform guidelines for State agencies to follow to help reduce and eliminate children’s exposure to environmental hazards, especially in areas reasonably accessible to children; Create and promote education programs, in partnership with health and environmental professionals, for parents, guardians, and caregivers of children that include information on: The potential health effects of environmental hazards; Practical suggestions on how to reduce children’s exposure to environmental hazards; and Any other relevant information to assist parents, guardians, and caregivers in protecting children from environmental hazards; Provide input to the General Assembly on legislation that may impact environmental hazards that affect the health of children; and Report to the Governor and, in accordance with § 2–1257 of the State Government Article, to the General Assembly on or before December 1, 2001 and each December 1 thereafter describing the activities of the Children’s Environmental Health and Protection Advisory Council.