Murphy Administration Made Great Strides in Lead Exposure Prevention

and There Is Still Time to Maximize Their Impact

TRENTON, NJ, January 14, 2025 — Lead-Free NJ (LFNJ) Steering Committee Co-Chairs Rashan Prailow and Debbie Mans, and Lead-Free NJ Advocacy Coordinating Committee Co-chair Yvette Jordan released the following statement on Governor Murphy’s 2025 State of the State Address:

During his term as Governor, Murphy’s administration has dedicated unprecedented funding and attention to lead poisoning prevention. Although NJ has set bold and visionary standards for ending childhood lead poisoning, we need sustained resources and dedication to equitable implementation to make this vision a reality. While lead was not mentioned during today’s address, preventing lead exposure is aligned with the Governor’s belief that “nothing is more important than nurturing the growth and development of our children.”

We urge Governor Murphy to use the remainder of his time as Governor, including preparing the fiscal year 2026 budget, to prioritize the health of New Jersey’s children by getting lead exposure prevention initiatives over the finish line.

We extend our gratitude to Murphy’s administration for implementing the following:

• In 2019, dedicated $100 million to lead in drinking water remediation for schools through the Securing Our Children’s Future Bond Act
• In 2019, promised to create a public, central database to report school lead in drinking water results
• In 2021, signed into law the requirement to inspect rental housing for lead paint hazards and appropriated 3.9 million
• In 2021, signed into law the requirement to replace all lead service lines by 2031
• In 2022, dedicated $170 million to lead paint remediation through federal American Rescue Plan Act funds
• In 2023, launched the Potential Lead Exposure Mapping tool, providing publicly available data to estimate certain lead exposure risk

NJ is making measurable progress in reducing elevated blood lead levels. Between 2017 to 2022, the percentage of children under six with an elevated level of lead in their blood dropped from 2.5% to 1.9%. Now is the time to keep this momentum going and ensure this legacy of lead exposure prevention becomes long-lasting.

To strengthen these great achievements, there are issues that the Murphy administration can act on now to shore up their legacy of lead exposure prevention:

• Only $6.6 million has been spent of the $100 million dedicated to school lead in drinking water remediation, plus the promised database of test results does not currently exist for the public. The Department of Education can take proactive steps to provide this funding to school districts and produce a database of test results.
• Although grant funding was allocated through the FY 2023 Lead Grant Assistance Program (LGAP) to support municipal implementation of the lead paint inspection law, many towns lost out on the opportunity because they did not understand the application process and the tight timeline for using the funds. The Department of Community Affairs can make this funding available again and improve the application process.
• No state funding was allocated along with the 2021 requirement to replace lead service lines by 2031. The Governor can include funding for this important initiative in the FY26 budget.
• The historic allotment of $170 million for lead paint remediation will expire at the end of 2026. To maintain the new jobs created with these funds and continue to make homes lead-safe, sustained funding is needed. In order to continue this important work, the state can make changes to the Lead Hazard Control Fund to secure more consistent funding.

The Lead-Free NJ collaborative has nearly 300 members and centers Community Hubs – local grassroots organizations that advance local efforts and support statewide advocacy. The collaborative is working to eliminate childhood lead poisoning in New Jersey. For more information, please visit www.LeadFreeNJ.org or contact info@leadfreenj.org