BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 225| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- UNFINISHED BUSINESS Bill No: SB 225 Author: Wieckowski (D) Amended: 8/17/15 Vote: 27 - Urgency SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE: 5-2, 4/15/15 AYES: Wieckowski, Hill, Jackson, Leno, Pavley NOES: Gaines, Bates SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8 SENATE FLOOR: 24-11, 5/4/15 AYES: Allen, Beall, Block, De León, Galgiani, Hall, Hernandez, Hertzberg, Hill, Hueso, Jackson, Lara, Leno, Leyva, Liu, McGuire, Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning, Nielsen, Pan, Roth, Wieckowski, Wolk NOES: Anderson, Bates, Fuller, Gaines, Huff, Moorlach, Morrell, Nguyen, Runner, Stone, Vidak NO VOTE RECORDED: Berryhill, Cannella, Hancock, Pavley ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 8/27/15 (Consent) - See last page for vote SUBJECT: Medical waste SOURCE: California Hospital Association DIGEST: This bill makes various technical changes to the Medical Waste Management Act (MWMA). Assembly Amendments delete the provisions related to the California Integrated Waste Management Act, and instead make clarifying and technical amendments to MWMA. SB 225 Page 2 ANALYSIS: Existing federal law: 1)Authorizes the United States Department of Transportation to enforce rules on the transportation of medical waste on public roads and highways (49 U.S. Code of Federal Regulations). 2)Authorizes the United States Postal Service to regulate medical waste and sharps waste containers that are transported through the mail (Domestic Mail Manual 601.10.17.5). Existing state law, pursuant to the MWMA, requires the California Department of Public Health (DPH) to regulate the management and handling of medical waste. The program authorizes off-site medical waste treatment facilities, oversees transfer stations, approves alternative treatment technologies, and acts as the local enforcement agency in 26 jurisdictions (including Los Angeles County) where local agencies have elected not to conduct their own enforcement. (Health and Safety Code §117600 et seq.). This bill: 1) Clarifies the definition of biohazard bag. 2) Requires a hazardous waste transporter of medical waste to maintain a tracking document, as specified, for the purpose of tracking medical waste from the point when the waste leaves the generator facility until the waste receives final treatment. 3) Requires the tracking document to be maintained only by hazardous waste transporters, and not by generators transporting waste. 4) Revises the container labeling requirements for specified medical wastes from "HIGH HEAT OR INCINERATION ONLY" TO "HIGH HEAT" or "INCINERATION ONLY". 5) Takes effect immediately, upon signature of the Governor. SB 225 Page 3 Background MWMA. In the fall of 1989, there were several incidents of medical waste washing up on San Diego County beaches, as well as several reports of medical waste being disposed of in dumpsters and trash bins. In response to these incidents, both the Legislature and the executive branch considered new approaches to handling medical waste. At the time, California statute only defined "infectious waste" as wastes that contain infectious organisms that cause human disease. This waste was treated as hazardous waste; however, this definition severely limited the types of wastes that could be regulated. In 1989 and 1990, bills were introduced by Assembly Member Hayden (AB 109) and Assembly Member Mojonnier (AB 1641). The goal of the bills was to respond to general concerns over the lax management of medical and infectious wastes and address specific issues identified in California and at the national level. Ultimately, the two bills were combined to form the MWMA and, according to the original legislative intent, "comprise a single, integrated, and complementary approach to the storage, treatment, transportation, and disposal of medical waste" (Chapters 1613 and 1614, Statutes of 1990). Comments Purpose of Bill. According to the author: When the Medical Waste Management Act was enacted over 20 years ago, California became one of the first states in the nation to set statutory standards governing the waste stream. Many changes during the intervening years in medical waste treatment, transportation oversight, and requirements by landfill and waste water treatment operators necessitated an update of the Act. Under AB 333 (Wieckowski), an extensive stakeholder process was conducted that consolidated and recast provisions to SB 225 Page 4 the Medical Waste Management Act aimed at alleviating internal inconsistencies and ambiguities, while updating state and federal requirements. As is the case with any substantive reform, there are some technical revisions to correct and clarify issues raised through enforcement actions following the implementation of AB 333. Prior Legislation AB 333 (Wieckowski, Chapter 564, Statutes of 2014) amended the MWMA to address inconsistencies, clarify references, and align the act with federal policy governing the transport of medical waste. AB 467 (Stone, Chapter 10, Statutes of 2014) created a licensure category for a surplus medication collection and distribution intermediary. AB 1893 (Stone and Eggman, 2014) would have made various changes to the handling of home-generated sharps. The bill failed passage on the Assembly Floor. SB 1014 (Jackson, 2014) would have required the Board of Pharmacy to develop regulations governing the collection of home-generated pharmaceutical waste at pharmacies. The bill was held in Assembly Appropriations Committee. AB 1442 (Wieckowski, Chapter 689, Statutes of 2012) defined pharmaceutical waste, exempted the waste generator from certain hauling requirements, and allowed the waste to be transported by a common carrier in order to reduce costs for handling expired pharmaceutical wastes. AB 2335 (Saldana, Chapter 166, Statutes of 2006) made various clarifying changes to the MWMA with the aim of reducing medical waste management costs and clarifying the complex regulatory framework. SB 407 (Alpert, Chapter 139, Statutes of 1999) authorized the use of chemical disinfection as a treatment method for certain types of laboratory-generated medical waste if specified requirements were met. SB 225 Page 5 SB 1034 (Maddy, Chapter 732, Statutes of 1997) added trauma scene waste management to the MWMA. This addition required the registration of commercial firms who clean up trauma scenes in order to ensure appropriate training and disposal of waste. SB 1966 (Wright, Chapter 536, Statutes of 1996) moved the management and handling of waste pharmaceuticals under DPH and the MWMA and reestablished fee authorities for DPH for small quantity medical waste generators. SB 372 (Wright, Chapter 877, Statutes of 1995) made various changes to the MWMA, including revisions to the definition of large quantity generator, medical waste exclusions, and storage. The bill also incorporated additional classes into the definition of medical waste and authorized the use of high temperatures to treat medical waste prior to disposal. SB 1360 (Committee on Health and Human Services, Chapter 415 of 1995) moved the MWMA to the DPH during Governor Wilson's reorganization of the Department of Health Services to DPH and the California Environmental Protection Agency. FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.:YesLocal: No According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, this bill has minor, if any, additional state costs. SUPPORT: (Verified8/26/15) California Hospital Association (source) BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) OPPOSITION: (Verified8/26/15) None received SB 225 Page 6 ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 8/27/15 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Wood, Atkins NO VOTE RECORDED: Frazier, Williams Prepared by:Joanne Roy / E.Q. / (916) 651-4108 8/28/15 15:54:08 **** END ****