Sonoma County Asthma Coalition

1. AB 821 – The Clean and Healthy Schools Act supports the switch in k-12 schools to safer “environmentally preferable” cleaning products. Unfortunately, as of Jan 2010, this bill did not pass out of the Appropriations Committe.

2.AB 1646 (Hayashi) requires special training for coaches on potentially catastrophic injuries, including asthma attacks

3. Sonoma County Energy Independence Loan Program supports the creation of a Sonoma County Loan Fund to pay for home energy improvements that support energy efficiency, renewable energy, and water conservation that reduce green house gas emissions.

HOUSING POLICY PRIORITIES

The Sonoma County Asthma Coalition invites elected officials, government agencies, landlords, non-profit organizations, and tenants to join together to systematically improve the indoor air quality of rental housing in Sonoma County by by supporting the following:

1. Code Enforcement

• Move from complaint-driven to a pro-active home inspection process (such as annual inspections of
multi-unit housing).
• Establish countywide standards for assessment and remediation for mold complaints.

  2. Second Hand Smoke

• Implement smoke-free policies for multi-unit housing (e.g., landlords and housing agencies designate smoke
free units or completely smoke free complexes).
• Enact smoke-free housing ordinances or nuisance laws giving tenants affected by secondhand smoke legal recourse.

  3. Green Building

• Establish mandatory green building standards for all Sonoma County jurisdictions.
• Strengthen existing green building standards by increasing the minimum number of required indoor air
quality related green points.
• Include indoor air quality and health related measures in new retrofit programs.

• Conduct health and safety code inspections at point-of-sale audit.

  4. Preferable Healthier Building, Maintenance, And Cleaning Products

• Increase the use of preferable green (non-toxic) products for cleaning, renovation, and maintenance by
property managers, homeowners, business owners, schools and organizations.
• Provide incentives for landlords who choose healthier practices when renovating or cleaning rental units.

  SCHOOL POLICY PRIORITIES

  The West County Asthma Team developed a three year plan to address asthma and clean air at schools. The plan includes the following activities:

  1. District Wellness Policy – Review district policies related to asthma management, school health curriculum, physical education curriculum, and environmental trigger reduction policies.

  2. Asthma Management – Increase the number of students who understand how to properly manage their asthma at school.

  3. Asthma Education – Educate students on how to reduce asthma triggers on campus.

  4. Reducing Asthma Triggers & Emergencies – Educate school staff, teachers, PE teachers, and instructional aides on how to respond to asthma emergencies and on ways to reduce asthma triggers at school.