Bill Text: CA AB1893 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Sharps waste.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-06-26 - Stricken from file. [AB1893 Detail]
Download: California-2013-AB1893-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 1893 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 23, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 1, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 28, 2014
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members Stone and Eggman
FEBRUARY 19, 2014
An act to add Article 7 (commencing with Section 111657) to
Chapter 6 of Part 5 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code,
and to amend Section 138.6 of the Labor Code, relating to sharps
waste.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1893, as amended, Stone. Sharps waste.
(1) Existing law, the Medical Waste Management Act, administered
by the State Department of Public Health, regulates the management
and handling of medical waste, as defined. Existing law specifically
excludes home-generated sharps waste, as defined, from the definition
of medical waste. Existing law requires all sharps waste to be
placed into a sharps container, taped closed, and labeled with the
words "sharps waste" or with the international biohazard symbol and
the word "BIOHAZARD." Existing law prohibits a person from knowingly
placing home-generated sharps waste in certain types of containers
and requires that home-generated sharps waste be transported only in
sharps containers, as defined, or other containers approved by the
State Department of Public Health or the local enforcement agency.
Existing law, the Sherman Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Law, requires the
State Department of Public Health to regulate the manufacturing,
sale, labeling, and advertising activities related to food, drugs,
devices, and cosmetics in conformity with the federal Food, Drug, and
Cosmetic Act. A violation of the Sherman Food, Drug, and Cosmetic
Law is a misdemeanor.
This bill would require all sharps sold to the general public in
California in quantities of 50 or more to be sold
with a include a free sharps waste container
that meets applicable state and federal standards for collection and
disposal of medical sharps waste. The bill would require the
sharps manufacturer to provide the sharps container at no
cost. The bill would require the container to , among
other things, be labeled with the words "sharps waste" or with
the international biohazard symbol and the word "BIOHAZARD" and would
also require specified information to be included on a label affixed
to the container or on a separate insert included in the sharps
packaging. The bill would not preempt a local ordinance that
establishes a mandatory system for the collection of home-generated
sharps waste for disposal. Because a violation of these provisions
would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local
program.
(2) Existing law establishes a workers' compensation system,
administered by the Administrative Director of the Division of
Workers' Compensation, to compensate an employee for injuries
sustained in the course of his or her employment. Existing law
requires the administrative director to develop a cost-efficient
workers' compensation information system and requires the
administrative director to adopt regulations specifying the data
elements to be collected by electronic data interchange. Existing law
defines "sharps waste" to mean any device having acute rigid
corners, edges, or protuberances capable of cutting or piercing,
including, but not limited to, hypodermic needs, hypodermic needles
with syringes, and syringes contaminated with biohazardous waste.
This bill would encourage the administrative director to
incorporate the use of specific data elements that identify
review the department's practices for ident ifying
puncture wounds caused by sharps waste in nonhealth care
occupations that are collected by electronic data
interchange. to determine ways of encouraging more
accurate reporting and collection of needlestick injury data.
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.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Article 7 (commencing with Section 111657) is added to
Chapter 6 of Part 5 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code, to
read:
Article 7. Sharps
111657. (a) Sharps sold to the general public in California
in quantities of 50 or more shall be sold with a
include a free sharps waste container that meets
applicable state and federal standards for collection and disposal
of medical sharps waste. The sharps waste container shall be
provided by the sharps manufacturer at no cost. The container shall
have an adequate capacity to contain the number of sharps purchased.
The container shall be labeled with the words "sharps waste" or
with the international biohazard symbol and the word "BIOHAZARD" as
provided in Section 118285. The sharps waste container shall include
all of the following information on a label affixed to the container,
or on a separate insert included in the sharps packaging:
(1) Directions for the safe disposal of sharps waste as described
in Sections 118285 and 118286.
(2) A reference to the Department of Resources Recycling and
Recovery's Internet Web site on home-generated sharps waste disposal
and the disposal directory for sharps waste and medication.
(b) (1) This section does not preclude a manufacturer, seller, or
distributor of sharps from implementing a voluntary take-back program
of home-generated sharps waste on their premises or through a
mail-back program. This section does not preclude the establishment
of mail-back or take-back programs.
(c) This section does not preempt any local ordinances that
establish a mandatory system for the collection of home-generated
sharps waste for disposal. This section does not prohibit a city,
county, or city and county from adopting ordinances or policies that
establish a system for the collection of home-generated sharps waste
for disposal.
SEC. 2. Section 138.6 of the Labor Code is amended to read:
138.6. (a) The administrative director, in consultation with the
Insurance Commissioner and the Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating
Bureau, shall develop a cost-efficient workers' compensation
information system, which shall be administered by the division. The
administrative director shall adopt regulations specifying the data
elements to be collected by electronic data interchange.
(b) The information system shall do the following:
(1) Assist the department to manage the workers' compensation
system in an effective and efficient manner.
(2) Facilitate the evaluation of the efficiency and effectiveness
of the delivery system.
(3) Assist in measuring how adequately the system indemnifies
injured workers and their dependents.
(4) Provide statistical data for research into specific aspects of
the workers' compensation program.
(c) The data collected electronically shall be compatible with the
Electronic Data Interchange System of the International Association
of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions. The administrative
director may adopt regulations authorizing the use of other
nationally recognized data transmission formats in addition to those
set forth in the Electronic Data Interchange System for the
transmission of data required pursuant to this section. The
administrative director shall accept data transmissions in any
authorized format. If the administrative director determines that any
authorized data transmission format is not in general use by claims
administrators, conflicts with the requirements of state or federal
law, or is obsolete, the administrative director may adopt
regulations eliminating that data transmission format from those
authorized pursuant to this subdivision.
(d) (1) The administrative director shall assess an administrative
penalty against a claims administrator for a violation of data
reporting requirements adopted pursuant to this section. The
administrative director shall promulgate a schedule of penalties
providing for an assessment of no more than five thousand dollars
($5,000) against a claims administrator in any single year,
calculated as follows:
(A) No more than one hundred dollars ($100) multiplied by the
number of violations in that year that resulted in a required data
report not being submitted or not being accepted.
(B) No more than fifty dollars ($50) multiplied by the number of
violations in that year that resulted in a required report being late
or accepted with an error.
(C) Multiple errors in a single report shall be counted as a
single violation.
(D) A penalty shall not be assessed pursuant to Section 129.5 for
any violation of data reporting requirements for which a penalty has
been or may be assessed pursuant to this section.
(2) The schedule promulgated by the administrative director
pursuant to paragraph (1) shall establish threshold rates of
violations that shall be excluded from the calculation of the
assessment, as follows:
(A) The threshold rate for reports that are not submitted or are
submitted but not accepted shall not be less than 3 percent of the
number of reports that are required to be filed by or on behalf of
the claims administrator.
(B) The threshold rate for reports that are accepted with an error
shall not be less than 3 percent of the number of reports that are
accepted with an error.
(C) The administrative director shall set higher threshold rates
as appropriate in recognition of the fact that the data necessary for
timely and accurate reporting may not be always
always be available to a claims administrator or the
claims administrator's agents.
(D) The administrative director may establish higher thresholds
for particular data elements that commonly are not reasonably
available.
(3) The administrative director may estimate the number of
required data reports that are not submitted by comparing a
statistically valid sample of data available to the administrative
director from other sources with the data reported pursuant to this
section.
(4) All penalties assessed pursuant to this section shall be
deposited in the Workers' Compensation Administration Revolving Fund.
(5) The administrative director shall publish an annual report
disclosing the compliance rates of claims administrators.
(e) The administrative director is encouraged to
incorporate the use of specific data elements that identify
review the department's practices for identifying
puncture wounds caused by sharps waste in nonhealth care occupations
that are collected by electronic data interchange.
to determine ways of encouraging more accurate reporting and
collection of needlestick injury data.
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.
