NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A bill to put carbon monoxide detectors at all daycares across Tennessee is now moving through the legislature after NewsChannel 5 reporting highlighted the dangers of not having them.
In January, NewsChannel 5 talked to a mother whose child was exposed to carbon monoxide at a daycare among other children. Her child had to seek treatment for her 8-month-old at a St. Thomas Hospital emergency room. Carbon monoxide is odorless but can be deadly if inhaled. The average cost of a detective device ranges from $6 to $25 on most major retail sites.
Watch our reporting in the player above.
That reporting spurred Rep. Darren Jernigan, D-Old Hickory, to make the devices mandatory in all daycares starting July 1. They would have to be installed no later than Sept. 30.
In current state law, new daycares are already required to have these devices if there is fuel-fired equipment.
But daycares that provide care for 6 to 100 children that are 2.5 years of age or less, and that have rooms located on a ground level with an exit door directly outside, are not required to have them.
How you can keep up with the daycare bill
If you have a child in daycare and want to keep up with this topic, we understand.
HB 1969 has been filed for introduction. If you type in the house bill number in the search feature on the legislative website, it will take you to the bill's language and where it is on the calendar.
It currently doesn't have a Senate sponsor or assigned to a committee. That bill will have to go through the committee process in the House and the Senate before it reaches either floor.
Once it gets to floor sessions, both bodies will have to approve the measure by a majority vote.
NewsChannel 5 will keep tracking this bill as it moves through the legislature.
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