Home sellers must disclose radon gas testing

Requiring home sellers to disclose radon testing and penalizing unlicensed tattoo artists are two of the major provisions contained in the Department of Health omnibus policy bill.

Rep. Carolyn Laine (DFL-Columbia Heights) and Sen. John Marty (DFL-Roseville) sponsor the law, which was signed by Gov. Mark Dayton on Tuesday.

Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer. One in three Minnesota homes pose a risk from radon said Laine, who said the law will not mandate testing or mitigation. Rather, a Department of Health radon awareness brochure will be given to the 40,000 annual home buyers across the state at the point of sale. If the seller has knowledge of radon in the home, that information must be disclosed to the buyer. The so-called “Radon Awareness Act” also requires the seller to hand over records pertaining to radon testing or mitigation of the residence, if available.

“The problem is that it seeps into our homes and concentrates there. Information about radon would be disclosed through a handful of questions and information will be given out explaining the serious need to test,” Laine said.

Effective Jan. 1, 2014, this provision of the law includes a few exclusions to the disclosure requirement, such as property transferred due to divorce, foreclosure, death of a family member or when no money is transferred.

Miscellaneous provisions

Several miscellaneous health provisions are also contained in the new law. Effective Aug. 1, 2013, they include:
• making it a gross misdemeanor for tattoo artists who practice their craft without a license. The penalties are intended to deter unsafe practices. Along with other written instructions, tattoo artists must advise the client on the difference between normal skin or tissue irritation and infection;
• requiring student loan forgiveness recipients to provide the Health Department with confirmation, rather than an affidavit, that they meet program requirements;
• requiring nursing homes, home care providers, supervised living facilities, boarding care homes, hospice and outpatient surgical centers to create and maintain a tuberculosis prevention and control program;
• requiring department investigators in a vulnerable adult complaint to interview at least one family member, unless the vulnerable adult is directing his or her own care;
• allowing occupational therapy assistants to deliver certain therapies, such as electrical nerve stimulation and ultrasound, if the assistant has received training in the use of such therapies; and
• permitting the department to conduct criminal background studies on volunteers registered in the Minnesota Responds Medical Reserve Corp.

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