All homes in Wisconsin could soon be required to install carbon monoxide detectors.
Carbon monoxide poisoning claims over 2,000 lives in the US each year, and State Representative Gordon Hintz (D-Oshkosh) says legislation approved in the Senate and Assembly Thursday will help prevent similar deaths in the future. The bill requires the devices to be installed in single and two-family homes, on top of an existing mandate for them in apartment buildings and hotels.
State Representative Robin Vos (R-Racine) worries it will put an extra financial burden on families, by requiring them to have the devices installed on each floor of their home. He says many families are already struggling with additional costs being imposed by the state, and the extra $100 it may cost to have detectors installed could be difficult to cover.
Hintz says the legislation does not push for enforcement of the requirement, unless a home is being sold or rented. He says the goal is to have carbon monoxide detectors just as common in homes as smoke detectors are now, so residents are protected.
The bill now heads to the Governor.
AUDIO: Andrew Beckett reports (1:06)
