BILL NUMBER: AB 1202	CHAPTERED
	BILL TEXT

	CHAPTER  678
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE  OCTOBER 9, 2013
	APPROVED BY GOVERNOR  OCTOBER 9, 2013
	PASSED THE SENATE  AUGUST 26, 2013
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY  MAY 30, 2013
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 24, 2013
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 17, 2013

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Skinner
   (Coauthor: Assembly Member Ammiano)

                        FEBRUARY 22, 2013

   An act to add Section 144.8 to the Labor Code, relating to
occupational safety and health standards.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1202, Skinner. Occupational safety and health standards:
hazardous drugs.
   Under existing law, the Occupational Safety and Health Standards
Board within the Department of Industrial Relations promulgates
occupational safety and health standards for the state, including
standards dealing with toxic materials and harmful physical agents.
Violations of these standards and regulations is a crime.
   This bill would require the board to adopt a standard for the
handling of antineoplastic drugs, as defined, in health care
facilities regardless of the setting. The bill would require the
standard to be consistent with and not exceed specific
recommendations adopted by the National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health for preventing occupational exposures to those
drugs in health care settings. By creating a new crime, this bill
would impose a state-mandated local program.
   The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
   This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.



THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares the following:
   (a) Health care personnel who work with or near hazardous drugs in
health care settings may be exposed to these agents in the air, on
work surfaces, clothing, and medical equipment, or through patient
contact.
   (b)  According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety
and Health (NIOSH), early concerns about occupational exposure to
antineoplastic drugs first appeared in the 1970s. Antineoplastic
drugs may cause skin rashes, infertility, miscarriages, and birth
defects, and have been linked to a wide variety of cancers.
   (c) In 2004, the NIOSH published an alert on preventing
occupational exposures to antineoplastic drugs in health care
settings, and updated that alert in 2010. In this alert, the NIOSH
"presents a standard precautions or universal precautions approach to
handling hazardous drugs safely: that is, NIOSH recommends that all
hazardous drugs be handled as outlined in this Alert."
   (d) It is the intent of the Legislature to require the
Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board to adopt standards
consistent with the NIOSH alert regardless of the setting in order to
protect health care personnel from hazardous exposure to these
drugs.
  SEC. 2.  Section 144.8 is added to the Labor Code, to read:
   144.8.  (a) As used in this section the following definitions
shall apply:
   (1) "Antineoplastic drug" means a chemotherapeutic agent that
controls or kills cancer cells.
   (2) "NIOSH" means the National Institute for Occupational Safety
and Health.
   (b) The board shall adopt an occupational safety and health
standard for the handling of antineoplastic drugs in health care
facilities regardless of the setting. In developing the standard, the
board shall consider input from hospitals, practicing physicians
from impacted specialties, including oncology, organizations
representing health care personnel, including registered nurses and
pharmacists, and other stakeholders, and shall determine a reasonable
time for facilities to implement new requirements imposed by the
adopted standard. The standard, to the extent feasible, shall be
consistent with and not exceed recommendations in the NIOSH 2004
alert entitled "Preventing Occupational Exposures to Antineoplastic
and Other Hazardous Drugs in Health Care Settings," as updated in
2010. The standard may incorporate applicable updates and changes to
NIOSH guidelines.
  SEC. 3.  No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.