BILL ANALYSIS �
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|Hearing Date:June 11, 2012 |Bill No:AB |
| |1782 |
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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)
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION:
Support: Waste Management
Opposition: California Agricultural Commissioners and Sealers
Association
Consultant:Michael Lynch