BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 649 (Patterson) - Medical waste: law enforcement drug
takeback programs
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|Version: June 24, 2015 |Policy Vote: E.Q. 6 - 0 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: No |
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|Hearing Date: August 17, 2015 |Consultant: Marie Liu |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: AB 649 would require Department of Public Health (DPH)
to evaluate and approve an alternative medical waste treatment
method that is designed to treat pharmaceutical waste by June 1,
2017 and would limit the use of such a technology by a law
enforcement agency.
Fiscal
Impact:
Potential unknown one-time costs, ranging from the thousands
to hundreds of thousands, to the Medical Waste Management Fund
(special fund) if the first alternative medical waste
treatment technology evaluation needs to be expedited to
comply with the June 1, 2017 deadline.
Unknown costs, potentially in the hundreds of thousands, to
the Medical Waste Management Fund (special fund) for DPH to
consult with other agencies on compliance with applicable
environmental quality laws.
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Background: Pursuant to the Medical Waste Management Act, DPH regulates
the management and handling of medical waste and authorizes
off-site medical waste treatment facilities, oversees transfer
stations, approves alternative treatment technologies, and acts
as the local law enforcement agency in 25 jurisdictions where
local agencies have elected not to conduct their own
enforcement.
Approval of alternative medical waste treatment methods is
subject to the criteria specified in subdivision (a) of §118215
of the Health and Safety Code.
Proposed Law:
This bill would require DPH to evaluate and approve any
alternative medical waste treatment solely designed to treat
pharmaceutical waste, including a pharmaceutical incinerator.
DPH would be required to complete its first evaluation by June
1, 2017. DPH would also be required to consult with the State
Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB), the Department of Toxic
Substances Control (DTSC), the State Air Resources Board (ARB),
and local air quality management districts to ensure compliance
with all other environmental laws prior to approval of the
alternative treatment.
This bill would also prohibit a law enforcement agency that
operates a prescription drug takeback program from utilizing a
pharmaceutical incinerator more than four times a year.
Staff
Comments: DPH has existing authority to approve alternative
medical waste treatments. This bill does not alter this
authority other than establish a deadline for the first
evaluation of a technology that is solely designed to treat
pharmaceuticals. The deadline of June 1, 2017 is irrespective of
when, and if, an application for such a technology may be
received. The time necessary to evaluate a technology can vary
widely depending on the type of technology as well as the
quality of the data submitted with the application. Should the
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first application be received with insufficient time before the
deadline to evaluate the technology under the existing process,
this bill would require DPH to expedite the evaluation at an
unknown cost.
Staff notes that under the existing evaluation process in which
there are no time limitations, DPH can have evaluation costs
that are not offset by the application fee. These costs can
exceed the application fee by thousands to hundreds of thousands
of dollars. These costs are not attributable to this bill as the
bill does not change what must be evaluated, only the timeline
in which it must be done.
This bill would require DPH to consult with the SWRCB, DTSC, and
ARB prior to approval of an alternative medical waste treatment
technology. Under the existing approval process, it is the
responsibility of the applicant to provide DPH with proof that
they have received the appropriate approvals from other agencies
that may have regulatory jurisdiction. This bill appears to
shift the onus onto DPH. As such, this bill may increase the
costs to evaluate a technology to include coordination with
other agencies regarding their approval.
This bill would allow a law enforcement agency operating a
prescription drug takeback program to utilize a pharmaceutical
incinerator that has been approved by DPH up to four times a
year. Under existing law, to use a pharmaceutical incinerator,
the law enforcement agency would be required to obtain a permit
from DPH. This bill does not alter this requirement; however,
the issued permit would have to have a special condition to
limit the use of the incinerator. To issue a permit with such a
condition can be done without changing DPH's administrative
costs. However, staff notes that it is unclear how DPH would
enforce such a use limitation or why such a limitation is
necessary if law enforcement agency is using an approved
technology.
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