New legislation in the state house would require buyers be warned if a house is connected to lead service lines.
Lawmakers behind the bill say it is important that buyers and renters be made aware of all potential sources of lead.
The bill would only impact homes connected to public water suppliers. Private wells were not included in the legislation.
Democratic Representative Sheryl Kennedy introduced the measure. She said cities are required to track where lead pipes are located.
“Your cities should be able to tell you if the pipes going into your house are made of lead or what they are made of,” Kennedy said.
In some cases, as in Flint, Kennedy said the public record was poorly maintained and it was difficult to know where all of the lead service lines were located.
But, she said, cities are required to keep that information.
Buyers and renters would have to be made aware of lead pipelines at the point of sale - similar to alerts about lead paint.
“So if I’m purchasing a home it would say on my disclosure statement ‘there are lead pipes that feed into the home or there are lead pipes in the home.’”
The bill is part of a larger package addressing lead in water systems that includes legislation requiring that lead lines don’t service school water systems.