Carbon monoxide detectors in PA child daycare facilities

Carbon monoxide is hard to detect.

Known as the silent killer, CO is an odorless, colorless gas produced when fossil fuels, wood, or anything containing carbon is burned. Heating systems, portable generators, charcoal grills, and cars are common sources of CO gas that can leak into enclosed spaces like homes and commercial buildings. Without a CO detector, the deadly gas is almost undetectable.

A scare at a child daycare facility in Allentown.

Young children and older adults are the most sensitive to the effects of CO exposure. Symptoms can develop within minutes to hours, depending on the level of exposure. On October 11, 2022, a call came in to 911 about an unconscious child at the Happy Smiles Learning Center. A firefighter from the Allentown Fire Department, using a CO/gas meter, measured dangerously high levels of CO in the building. Of the 27 children and 8 staff evacuated, 28 were transported by ambulance to four hospitals for monitoring.

Preventing CO poisoning is easy, but the path of legislation is hard.

Simple and inexpensive CO detectors sound an alarm in the presence of CO gas. In 2010, Pennsylvania established a uniform construction code requiring CO detectors in all new construction. In 2013, Act 121 (Senate Bill 607) required detectors in all multifamily dwellings and rental units. This was an important but limited step in protection against CO poisoning.

From 2013 to the present, legislators in both chambers and both parties have introduced many bills to expand the list of places where CO monitoring is required. These include schools, dormitories, childcare facilities, dependent daycare facilities, hotels, motels, and inns. Many of these bills have had bipartisan support. Only one, protecting the elderly in residential dependent care facilities, has passed into law.

In the 2021–2022 session: sidestepping bills to address childcare facilities

For over a decade, Senator Wayne Fontana of Allegheny County has introduced bills requiring CO monitoring in childcare and other facilities. In the 2021–2022 session, as in two previous sessions, his bill (Senate Bill 129) passed out of committee, passed unanimously on the Senate floor,  then died in committee in the House. 

Meanwhile, Representative McNeil’s House Bill 2502 was referred to the House Health Committee on September 22, 2022. The CO gas exposure event at Happy Smiles Learning Center happened less than one month later. Yet despite strong public interest and co-sponsors from both parties, HB 2502 was never even considered in committee. The 2021–2022 legislative session ended with no House committee action on either bill. That meant having to start all over again in the next session.

Rinse and repeat

In the 2023–2024 session, SB 129 and HB 2502 were reintroduced with new numbers. Representative McNeil introduced her bill as House Bill 494 on March 17, 2023 with 27 co-sponsors: 25 Democrats and 2 Republicans. With new House Health Committee leadership, the bill was quickly scheduled for a vote. It passed the committee on April 4 with 17 yeas and 4 nays. On April 26 it came up for a vote on the House floor and passed 158–43. The bill was sent to the Senate Health and Human Service Committee on May 9, 2023. The committee ignored the bill for the 19 months remaining in the session and the bill died.

Senator Fontana reintroduced his bill on Jan. 31, 2023 as Senate Bill 205 with 14 co-sponsors: 12 Democrats and 2 Republicans. On May 2, the bill was reported out of committee unanimously. For the remaining 19 months, Senate leadership refused to give the bill a floor vote and it died at the end of session.   

Maybe this time?

On February 2, 2025, Senator Fontana once again introduced his bill, this time as Senate Bill 256, with 16 co-sponsors: 12 Democrats and 4 Republicans. On April 1 it was voted unanimously out of committee and sent to Appropriations, where it is now waiting for attention. Representative McNeil reintroduced her House bill as House Bill 156 on January 16, 2025, with 22 co-sponsors, all Democrats. It was voted out of committee unanimously on March 19, voted out of Appropriations unanimously on April 9, and passed on the House floor the same day with 176 Yea and 23 Nay votes. As of this writing (April 2025) HB 156 is waiting for a vote in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, chaired by Senator Michele Brooks.

Further Reading:

Carbon monoxide leak sickens children at Allentown day care, Lehigh Valley Live, October 11, 2022

Environmental Issues In Child Care Settings: Carbon Monoxide