Title 42, The Public Health and WelfareRelease 119-110

§4855 Federal Implementation and Insurance Study

Title 42 › CHAPTER 63A — RESIDENTIAL LEAD-BASED PAINT HAZARD REDUCTION › SUBCHAPTER III — RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT › Part 2 — GAO Report › § 4855

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Comptroller General must assess how well federal lead-safety laws are being enforced and followed. The review must check if annual inspection steps should change to better find lead-based paint hazards in housing units that get help under subsections (b) and (o) of section 1437f. The Comptroller General must also study how available liability insurance is for owners of homes with lead paint and for people who test or fix lead hazards. The study must look at past insurance examples like asbestos work in federally assisted housing, review recent insurance experience in the public housing lead program, and recommend ways to make liability insurance more available to owners and contractors doing federally supported work.

Full Legal Text

Title 42, §4855

The Public Health and Welfare, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Federal implementation study

The Comptroller General of the United States shall assess the effectiveness of Federal enforcement and compliance with lead safety laws and regulations, including any changes needed in annual inspection procedures to identify lead-based paint hazards in units receiving assistance under subsections (b) and (o) of section 1437f of this title.

(b)Insurance study

The Comptroller General of the United States shall assess the availability of liability insurance for owners of residential housing that contains lead-based paint and persons engaged in lead-based paint hazard evaluation and reduction activities. In carrying out the assessment, the Comptroller General shall—

(1)analyze any precedents in the insurance industry for the containment and abatement of environmental hazards, such as asbestos, in federally assisted housing;

(2)provide an assessment of the recent insurance experience in the public housing lead hazard identification and reduction program; and

(3)recommend measures for increasing the availability of liability insurance to owners and contractors engaged in federally supported work.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

42 U.S.C. § 4855

Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110