BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------------- |Hearing Date:June 11, 2012 |Bill No:AB | | |1782 | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SENATE COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Senator Curren D. Price, Jr., Chair Bill No: AB 1782Author:Hill As Amended:June 4, 2012 Fiscal: No SUBJECT: Weighmasters: exemptions. SUMMARY: Specifies that facilities handling medical waste in accordance with the provisions of the Medical Waste Management Act are not weighmasters, thus eliminating the requirement that medical waste handlers record parcel weight information on weighmaster certificates. Existing law, the Business and Professions Code (BPC): 1)Requires that scales used in medical waste transactions be certified, or "sealed," by a sealer certified by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). (BPC § 12501.1) 2)Defines "weighmaster" as any person who weighs, measures, or counts any commodity and issues a statement of memorandum of the weight, measure, or count which is used as the basis for either the purchase or sale of that commodity or charge for service. (BPC § 12700) 3)Specifies certain persons who weigh and measure commodities, but are not weighmasters, include: retailers weighing commodities for sale in retail stores in the presence of consumers, individuals measuring the amount of oil, gas, or fuel for purposes of royalty consumption, newspaper publishers weighing newspapers for sale to dealers, textile maintenance establishments weighing in connection with the business of establishments, county sanitation districts operating, as specified, pest control operators, log scalers, and weighing and recycling centers. (BPC § 12701) 4)Requires weighmasters to obtain a license with the Division of Measurement Standards under the CDFA. (BPC § 12714) AB 1782 Page 2 5)Requires weighmasters to keep and preserve for four years all copies of certificates issued and make them available for inspection, as specified. (BPC § 12716) Existing law, the Health and Safety Code (HSC): 1)Governs the management of medical waste under the Medical Waste Management Act (Act) and requires medical waste haulers to provide specified tracking data to the California Department of Public Health (DPH). (HSC § 117600) 2)Defines"medical waste" as waste that is generated or produced as a result of any of the following actions: diagnosis, treatment, or immunization of human beings or animals. (HSC § 117690) 3)Provides that the tracking data (document) shall include: (HSC § 118029) a) Business name, address, and telephone number. b) Name of owner, operator, and contact person. c) Hazardous waste transporter registration number. d) Vehicle manufacturer name, vehicle model year, vehicle identification number, and the license plate number of each vehicle transporting medical waste. 1)Requires a hazardous waste transporter or generator transporting medical waste to maintain a completed tracking document of all medical waste removed for treatment or disposal. Further requires a hazardous waste transporter or generator who transports medical waste to a facility, other than the final medical waste treatment facility, to also maintain tracking documents which show the name, address, and telephone number of the medical waste generator. a) Requires at the time the medical waste is received by a hazardous waste transporter, the transporter must provide the medical waste generator with a copy of the tracking document for the generator's medical waste records. b) Requires the transporter or generator transporting medical AB 1782 Page 3 waste shall maintain its copy of the tracking document for three years. (HSC § 118040) 1)Subjects a waste hauler that intentionally misrepresents the weight of a parcel of waste, either on the label or through a report to DPH, to penalties of up to $10,000 per day per violation. (HSC § 118345) This bill: 1)Specifies that facilities handling medical waste are not weighmasters. 2)Eliminates the requirement that medical waste handlers record parcel weight information on weighmaster certificates. 3)Requires medical waste handlers to report net weights, not estimates to the Department of Public Health. FISCAL EFFECT: None. This bill has been keyed "non-fiscal" by Legislative Counsel. COMMENTS: 1.Purpose. This bill is sponsored by the Author. According to the Author, this measure eliminates the duplicative requirement that medical waste handlers record parcel weight information on weighmaster certificates, as this information is already collected and transmitted electronically to the DPH. To minimize public exposure to potential biological hazards, California meticulously tracks medical waste from the source of generation to the treatment facility. The information that DPH collects includes quantity and type of waste and the dates the material leaves the generating facility, arrives at the treatment facility, and passes through any transfer facilities on the way. The weighmaster certificate records only a subset of the information DPH requires. DPH's requirements are more stringent than CDFA's, its electronic transmittal makes the system more convenient and easier to use, and the information collected is better tailored to the goal of protecting public health. The development of DPH's AB 1782 Page 4 medical waste tracking system has effectively made CDFA's requirements for medical waste obsolete. In addition, DPH's medical waste tracking system protects public health and is tailored for the needs of the medical waste disposal industry. Neither is true of the weighmaster program. Producing, signing, and retaining weighmaster certificates takes up employee time and has no demonstrable benefit. This bill leaves waste handlers to focus on their primary responsibility-the safe handling of medical waste. 2.Background. The California Medical Waste Act was created in 1990, to establish and ensure statewide standards for uniformity in regards to the handling and disposal of medical waste. Medical waste refers to products that cannot be considered general waste, are produced from healthcare facilities, such as hospitals, clinics, doctors' offices, veterinary hospitals and labs. As a part of DPH's tracking system, licensed medical waste haulers collect containers from waste generators and transport them to a medical waste processing facility where they are weighed. Each container has a barcode label, which identifies the customer. As each container is weighed, the barcode is scanned. Both the customer information and weight are recorded electronically for reporting and billing purposes. Reports are submitted to DPH on a quarterly basis and customers are billed monthly. Both waste haulers and waste treatment facilities are responsible for transmitting information to DPH, creating an extra level of accountability for both parties. Besides DPH, CDFA has jurisdiction over medical waste through the weighmaster program. The weighmaster program exists to certify that, in a commercial transaction where the price depends on the weight, the weight is accurate. A weighmaster may be a person or a business that performs the actual weighing. Individuals who weigh the materials must be listed on the weighmaster application as "deputy weighmasters." No training is needed to become a weighmaster; one can become a weighmaster by completing the application and paying the application fee. In certifying the weight of a parcel involved in a commercial transaction, the weighmaster must issue a certificate. These certificates are to be retained by the weighmaster for 4 years and must be produced should a weight and measures official wish to inspect them. Unlike at DPH, however, there is no requirement that weighmaster certificates be transmitted to the CDFA. Though many businesses are licensed as weighmasters, current law allows AB 1782 Page 5 for exemptions from the certificate requirement across a broad range of industries, such as newspaper publishing, textiles, garbage and refuse disposal, and recycling redemption. 3.Related Legislation. AB 1518 (Perea): Authorizes any weighmaster weighing any vehicle moving earth, stone, rock, sand, gravel, or asphalt paving materials to use an unattended weighing system to weigh the vehicle and to issue a weighmaster certificate. This bill is in the Senate awaiting referral for hearing in policy Committee. SB 944 (BP&ED Committee, Chapter 432, Statutes of 2011) a Committee omnibus bill, as introduced, contained a similar provision to the weighmaster exemption for medical waste haulers found in AB 1782. However, due to opposition from the California Agricultural Commissioners and Sealers Association, the amendment was removed from the bill. 4.Arguments in Support. Waste Management (WM) states that with the implementation of DPH's electronic reporting system for medical waste haulers, the CDFA's weighmaster program is duplicative and obsolete. WM argues that streamlining CDFA's weighmaster certificate requirements will not compromise public health and safety, as DPH requires the same information to be reported. The streamlining proposed in AB 1782 will also not compromise consumer protection as CDFA and county sealers of weights and measures could still access this information from DPH if needed and will still continue to annually certify scales used to weigh medical waste. 5. Arguments in Opposition. The California Agricultural Commissioners and Sealers Association (CACASA) oppose the bill stating that agricultural commissioners and sealers perform routine inspections of weighmasters to ensure the correctness of the certificates issued. Removing the requirement to obtain a weighmaster certificate would eliminate any recourse for the public, if a consumer had a complaint or disagreement related to cost related to weight. CACASA contends that it is imperative that accurate records of weights and measures transactions are created and maintained through the weighmaster certificate. CACASA is confident that it is possible to address the issues raised by the bill internally and administratively without granting a the entire industry an exemption from the program. CACASA understands the desire to combine similar regulatory paperwork responsibilities, in this case the DPH and weighmaster certificate programs. However, a statewide exemption for an entire industry will exempt businesses with a wide spectrum of capabilities and technology, according to CACASA. AB 1782 Page 6 SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION: Support: Waste Management Opposition: California Agricultural Commissioners and Sealers Association Consultant:Michael Lynch