Less than two years after a mandatory fluoridation bill stalled in the state legislature (see – http://www.penweb.org/issues/fluoride/hb939stalls.html) , another mandatory fluoridation bill has been proposed for the state of Pennsylvania. If passed, the bill will require that every water supply in the state serving more than 500 people be fluoridated.
To learn more about the bill, contact Ellie Rudolph of the Pennsylvania Environmental Network (PEN) at frudolph@aol.com.
The bill has been referred to the Health & Human Services Committee. The Chairman of the committee is Dennis O’Brien (R), tel: 717-787-5689 and the Co-Chair is Frank Oliver (D), tel: 717-787-3480.
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THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
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HOUSE BILL
No. 595 Session of 2001
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INTRODUCED BY TIGUE, HENNESSEY, BUTKOVITZ, M. COHEN, CURRY, DeLUCA, FRANKEL, HALUSKA, McCALL, PISTELLA, PRESTON, ROEBUCK, SHANER, STABACK, TRELLO, WOJNAROSKI, SAINATO, SOLOBAY, THOMAS, WALKO AND YOUNGBLOOD, FEBRUARY 8, 2001
Referred to Committee on Health and Human Services, February 8, 2001
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AN ACT
Providing for fluoridation of public water.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Short title.
This act shall be known and may be cited as the Fluoridation Act.
Section 2. Purpose.
It is the purpose of this act to prevent dental disease as a health care cost-contaminant measure.
Section 3. Fluoride content of water.
Whenever the fluoride content of water served by public water suppliers to 500 domestic water connections or more is less than 0.8 milligrams per liter of fluoride, the person, association, firm, corporation, authority or municipality having jurisdiction over the supply shall add a measured amount of fluoride to the water so as to maintain a fluoride content of between 0.8 milligrams per liter and 1.2 milligrams per liter, in accordance with regulations adopted by the Department of Environmental Protection in consultation with the Department of Health, and recommended levels as established by the United States Public Health Service and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Section 4. Enforcement.
The Department of Environmental Protection shall enforce this act commencing one year after the effective date of this act.
Section 5. Effective date.
This act shall take effect in 120 days.