(a) All Local Lead Inspectors must register with the Health Department before performing any Local Lead Inspections. Registration will include the submission of name, address, license number, and $45.00 registration fee.
(b) Local Lead Inspectors must have an active license (Lead Risk Assessor, Lead Inspector, or Clearance Technician) with the Ohio Department of Health Environmental Licensure and Accreditation program.
(c) All work related to the achievement of a Lead-Safe Certificate shall be conducted in accordance with this Chapter and Ohio law. Local Lead Inspectors, Owners, Agents, and their employees may attend no cost educational training sessions provided at the discretion of the Health Department or other organizations or agencies approved by the Health Department. The educational training sessions may provide information to Owners, Agents, and their employees on how to maintain properties in a lead-safe manner. Attendance at these educational training sessions is optional and is not a guarantee of compliance or lead hazard clearance.
(d) As part of the City's efforts to ensure consistency and compliance with this Chapter and to protect the public health of its citizens, the Health Department may perform inspections of Residential Rental Properties and Family Child Care Homes on a random basis, or based on a reasonable suspicion that a Local Lead Inspector or other contractor or service provider is not conducting inspections, tests, or Local Lead Re-inspections in compliance with this Chapter and Ohio laws and regulations.
(e) Failure to comply with the provisions of this Section shall subject the individual(s) to administrative penalties for each violation as defined in this Chapter.
(f) Rejection of Residential Rental Property or Family Child Care Home Lead-Safe Report; nonresponsibility of Issuer:
(1) The Commissioner of the Health Department or the Commissioner's designee, is authorized to reject a Residential Rental Property or Family Child Care Home Lead-Safe Report that does not meet the requirements of this Chapter, or that is found after an inspection to not substantially represent the conditions present at the Residential Rental Property or Family Child Care Home for which the report was prepared. The reasons for the rejection shall be set forth in writing to the Issuer of the report and to the Owner of the property to which the report pertains.
(2) No Residential Rental Property or Family Child Care Home Lead-Safe Report shall be accepted from an Issuer who is not registered with the Health Department, or who has been found by the Commissioner to be nonresponsible.
(3) The Commissioner shall inform an Issuer in writing of a nonresponsibility determination and the reasons therefor.
(4) Upon making a nonresponsibility determination, the Commissioner may bar the Issuer and affiliated organizations, as further set forth herein, from submitting Local Lead Inspection Reports to the Health Department for a period not to exceed three years. If a corporation is found to be a nonresponsible Issuer, that finding may be applied to a parent, affiliate or subsidiary corporation, if an officer, director, or person directly or indirectly controlling 10% or more of the stock of the corporation is found to be nonresponsible. If an unincorporated association is found to be nonresponsible, that finding may be extended to other related associations upon a finding by the Commissioner that the related associations have substantially the same ownership, management, or operating personnel.
(5) In determining the nonresponsibility of an Issuer, the Commissioner shall consider:
(a) The record of performance of the Issuer, including but not limited to suspension or debarment by the state or federal government; or a history of lead hazard inspections that do not meet federal, state or City requirements.
(b) Criminal conduct in connection with Local Lead Inspections, government contracts or business activities.
(c) Violations of labor or employment laws.
(d) Violations of federal or state environmental statutes or regulations.
(e) Any other cause of so serious or compelling a nature that it raises questions about the responsibility of an Issuer, including, but not limited to, submission to the City of a false or misleading statement in connection with a Local Lead Inspection.
(f) In addition to the factors specified above, the Commissioner may also give due consideration to any other factors considered to bear upon Issuer responsibility, including, but not limited to, any mitigating factors brought to the City's attention by the Issuer.
(6) The Commissioner may develop rules and regulations to implement these guidelines and may request a sworn statement of Issuer qualifications to gather the necessary information set forth herein. The Commissioner may use the information contained in the response to the sworn statement in making a determination of Issuer nonresponsibility.
(7) Any Issuer who is adversely affected by any ruling issued pursuant to this Section may appeal such ruling by requesting a license revocation hearing before the Nuisance Abatement Housing Appeals Board pursuant to Section 1726.04(d).
(Ord. 397-20. Passed 10-20-20; Ord. 48-23. Passed 1-24-23.)