House Study Bill 144 - Introduced HOUSE FILE _____ BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY BILL BY CHAIRPERSON BALTIMORE) A BILL FOR An Act relating to the sale, lease, or rental of water 1 treatment systems. 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 3 TLSB 2228YC (2) 86 jh/rj
H.F. _____ Section 1. Section 714.16, subsection 2, paragraph h, Code 1 2015, is amended to read as follows: 2 h. It is an unlawful practice for a person to sell, 3 lease, rent, or advertise the sale, lease, or rental of a 4 water treatment system in this state, for which claims or 5 representations of removing health-related contaminants are 6 made, unless the water treatment system: 7 (1) Has been performance tested by a third-party testing 8 agency that has been authorized by the Iowa department of 9 public health. Alternatively, in all claims or representations 10 of removing health-related contaminants certified by a 11 certification body accredited by the American national 12 standards institute. If all water treatment system claims or 13 representations of removing health-related contaminants are 14 certified by a certification body accredited by the American 15 national standards institute, the manufacturer shall not 16 be required to register a water treatment system with the 17 Iowa department of public health. In lieu of third-party 18 performance testing of the manufacturer’s water treatment 19 system certification by a certification body accredited by the 20 American national standards institute , the manufacturer may 21 rely upon the manufacturer’s own test data after approval of 22 the data by an accepted third-party evaluator as provided in 23 this subparagraph. The Iowa department of public health shall 24 review the qualifications of a third-party evaluator proposed 25 by the manufacturer. The department may accept or reject a 26 proposed third-party evaluator based upon the required review. 27 If a third-party evaluator , accepted by the Iowa department 28 of public health, finds that the manufacturer’s test data is 29 reliable, adequate, and fairly presented, the manufacturer 30 may rely upon that data to satisfy the requirements of this 31 subparagraph after filing a copy of the test data and the 32 report of the third-party evaluator with the Iowa department of 33 public health. The testing agency shall use, or the evaluator 34 shall review for the use of, approved methods of performance 35 -1- LSB 2228YC (2) 86 jh/rj 1/ 4
H.F. _____ testing determined to be appropriate by the state hygienic 1 laboratory. 2 (2) Has met the performance testing requirements specified 3 in the testing protocol. 4 (3) Bears a conspicuous and legible label stating, 5 “IMPORTANT NOTICE —— Read the Manufacturer’s Performance Data 6 Sheet” and is accompanied by a manufacturer’s performance data 7 sheet. 8 The manufacturer’s performance data sheet shall be given 9 to the buyer and shall be signed and dated by the buyer and 10 the seller prior to the consummation of the sale of the water 11 treatment system. The manufacturer’s performance data sheet 12 shall contain information including, but not limited to: 13 (a) The name, address, and telephone number of the seller. 14 (b) The name, brand, or trademark under which the unit is 15 sold, and its model number. 16 (c) Performance and test data including, but not limited 17 to, the list of contaminants certified to be reduced by 18 the water treatment system; the test influent concentration 19 level of each contaminant or surrogate for that contaminant; 20 the percentage reduction or effluent concentration of each 21 contaminant or surrogate; where applicable, the maximum 22 contaminant level (MCL) or a treatment technique requirement or 23 an action level established in lieu of a maximum contaminant 24 level (MCL) specified in the national primary drinking water 25 regulations; where applicable, the approximate capacity in 26 gallons; where applicable, the period of time during which 27 the unit is effective in reducing contaminants based upon the 28 contaminant or surrogate influent concentrations used for the 29 performance tests; where applicable, the flow rate, pressure, 30 and operational temperature of the water during the performance 31 tests. 32 (d) Installation instructions. 33 (e) The recommended operational procedures and requirements 34 necessary for the proper operation of the unit including, but 35 -2- LSB 2228YC (2) 86 jh/rj 2/ 4
H.F. _____ not limited to, electrical requirements; maximum and minimum 1 pressure; flow rate; temperature limitations; maintenance 2 requirements; and where applicable, replacement frequencies. 3 (f) The seller’s limited warranty. 4 (4) Is accompanied by the consumer information pamphlet 5 compiled by the Iowa department of public health. 6 The consumer information pamphlet provided to the buyer of a 7 water treatment system shall be compiled by the Iowa department 8 of public health, reviewed annually, and updated as necessary. 9 The consumer information pamphlet shall be distributed to 10 persons selling water treatment systems and the costs of the 11 consumer information pamphlet shall be borne by persons selling 12 water treatment systems. The Iowa department of public health 13 shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A and charge all fees 14 necessary to administer this section . 15 EXPLANATION 16 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 17 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 18 This bill relates to the sale, lease, or rental of water 19 treatment systems. 20 Under current law, it is an unlawful practice for a person to 21 sell, lease, rent, or advertise the sale, lease, or rental of 22 a water treatment system for which claims or representations 23 of removing health-related contaminants are made, unless 24 either the water treatment system is performance tested by a 25 third-party testing agency authorized by the department of 26 public health or the manufacturer tested the system and the 27 manufacturer’s data is accepted by a third-party evaluator 28 which was approved by the department of public health. 29 Under Code section 714.16, the attorney general may 30 investigate a person the attorney general believes is engaged 31 in an unlawful practice and seek and obtain injunctive relief 32 against a person who is engaged in an unlawful practice. Code 33 section 714.16 also permits a court to impose a civil penalty 34 against a person who committed an unlawful practice. 35 -3- LSB 2228YC (2) 86 jh/rj 3/ 4
H.F. _____ The bill provides that it is not an unlawful practice if the 1 seller, lessor, or renter of a water treatment system have the 2 claims and representations related to removal of health-related 3 contaminants certified by a certification body accredited by 4 the American national standards institute. If a certification 5 body so certifies the water treatment system, the manufacturer 6 is not required to register a water treatment system with the 7 department of public health. 8 The bill provides that a third-party testing agency is not 9 required to be authorized by the department of public health, 10 and that a third-party evaluator is not required to be approved 11 by the department of public health. 12 Under current law, it is an unlawful practice for a person to 13 sell, lease, rent, or advertise the sale, lease, or rental of a 14 water treatment system unless the manufacturer’s performance 15 data sheet of the water treatment system and a consumer 16 information pamphlet compiled by the department of public 17 health are provided to the consumer. The bill eliminates these 18 requirements. 19 -4- LSB 2228YC (2) 86 jh/rj 4/ 4