Bill Text: CA AB403 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Solid waste: home-generated sharps.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-02-03 - From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [AB403 Detail]
Download: California-2013-AB403-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 403 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 18, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 8, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 19, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members Stone and Eggman
FEBRUARY 15, 2013
An act to amend Section 118286 of the Health and Safety Code, and
to repeal and add Article 3.3 (commencing with Section 47115) of
Chapter 1 of Part 7 of Division 30 of the Public Resources Code,
relating to solid waste.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 403, as amended, Stone. Solid waste: home-generated sharps.
(1) Existing law requires a pharmaceutical manufacturer selling or
distributing medication that is intended to be self-injected at home
to submit, on an annual basis, to the Department of Resources
Recycling and Recovery a plan supporting the safe collection and
proper disposal of specified waste devices.
This bill would require a producer of home-generated sharps or a
stewardship organization designated by the producer to submit a
home-generated sharps stewardship plan by April 1, 2015, to the
Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery. The bill would
require the plan to provide for the development and implementation of
a recovery program to reduce the generation of, and manage the
end-of-life end of life of,
home-generated sharps, and to include specified elements, including
provisions to meet unspecified specified
minimum collection rates for the home-generated sharps subject
to the plan.
The
This bill would provide for the review and approval of
the plan by the department and would require the department, on
January 1, 2016, or upon the date the first plan is approved,
whichever is earlier, to post on its Internet Web site a list of
producers for which the department has approved a plan. The bill
would require a wholesaler, health care facility, retailer, or other
distributor that distributes or sells home-generated sharps to
monitor the department's Internet Web site to determine if the sale
of a producer's home-generated sharps is in compliance with the bill.
The bill would, as of 120 days after that posting, prohibit
a producer or retailer from selling or offering for sale in this
state home-generated sharps to a person in this state unless the
producer of those home-generated sharps is in compliance with the
bill's requirements.
The
This bill would require a producer or stewardship
organization, by April 1, 2017, and every subsequent year thereafter,
to prepare and submit to the department an annual report describing
the activities carried out pursuant to the plan during the previous
calendar year. The department would be required to review the report
and would direct the department, if the annual report does not
demonstrate the achievement of an unspecified collection rate
increase, to require the program to take additional actions with
regard to improving and increasing the number of home-generated
sharps collection points, ensuring accessibility to those points, and
providing additional education and outreach activities. The bill
would authorize the department to exempt a producer or stewardship
organization from the annual report requirements if the department
determines that the collection rate for the home-generated sharps
subject to a plan meets a 95% collection rate.
The
This bill would require a producer or stewardship
organization submitting a plan to the department to pay the
department an annual administrative fee in an amount that is
sufficient to cover the department's full costs of administering and
enforcing these provisions. The bill would require the department to
deposit the fees in the Safe Sharps Disposal Account, which the bill
would establish in the Integrated Waste Management Fund, and the
department would be authorized to expend the moneys in that account,
upon appropriation by the Legislature, to administer and enforce the
bill's requirements.
The
This bill would require the department to enforce these
provisions and would authorize the department to impose an
administrative civil penalty on a person who violates the bill's
requirements or on a producer or stewardship organization that does
not achieve the unspecified minimum collection rate. The department
would be required to deposit all penalties collected into the Safe
Sharps Disposal Penalty Account, which the bill would create in the
Integrated Waste Management Fund, and the department would be
authorized to expend the moneys in that account, upon appropriation
by the Legislature, to enforce the bill's requirements.
(2) The existing Medical Waste Management Act, administered by the
State Department of Public Health, prohibits a person from knowingly
placing home-generated sharps waste in certain types of containers,
requires that home-generated sharps waste be transported only in a
sharps container, as defined in the act, or other container approved
by the department or local enforcement agency, and requires that this
waste be managed only at specified locations.
This bill would additionally allow home-generated sharps waste to
be managed at a facility or collection point operated pursuant to an
approved home-generated sharps stewardship plan.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) The United States Environmental Protection Agency estimates
that about 9 million people in the United States currently use
disposable needles (sharps) at home to deliver medications to treat a
variety of diseases and conditions, including diabetes, cancer,
multiple sclerosis, migraines, and allergies. United States
households use more than 3 billion disposable needles and syringes
each year.
(b) Since 2008 , it has been illegal in California for
individuals to throw away home-generated sharps. While the state
banned needles from trash disposal in 2008, there is still no
consistent, statewide program that is sustainably funded or has high
levels of effectiveness at collecting the majority of sharps disposed
of each year in California. As a result, thousands of pounds of
illegally disposed of sharps enter the municipal waste stream each
year, putting many people at risk of injury or infection.
(c) Sharps in the trash pose serious health risks to sanitation
workers, water treatment facility operators, and the general public.
In addition to the immediate risk of a needle stick injury, sharps
put individuals at risk of acquiring blood borne infectious diseases,
such as hepatitis or HIV. Individuals who suffer a needle stick
injury must receive immediate treatment and followup
follow-up care, including multiple lab tests and
medications.
(d) When sanitation workers encounter sharps, productivity suffers
and costs increase. When workers sustain a needle stick injury, the
costs of care are borne by the waste management company, the workers'
compensation insurer, and ultimately, taxpayers and ratepayers.
(e) It is the intent of the Legislature, in enacting the safe
home-generated sharps recovery program, as established by Article 3.3
(commencing with Section 47115) of Chapter 1 of Part 7 of Division
30 of the Public Resources Code, to ensure affordable and convenient
sharps collection opportunities, which, in turn, will help prevent
the improper management of those sharps.
SEC. 2. Section 118286 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to
read:
118286. (a) A person shall not knowingly place home-generated
sharps waste in any of the following containers:
(1) Any container used for the collection of solid waste,
recyclable materials, or greenwaste.
(2) Any container used for the commercial collection of solid
waste or recyclable materials from business establishments.
(3) Any roll-off container used for the collection of solid waste,
construction, and demolition debris, greenwaste, or other recyclable
materials.
(b) Home-generated sharps waste shall be transported only in a
sharps container, or other containers approved by the enforcement
agency, and shall only be managed at any of the following:
(1) A household hazardous waste facility pursuant to Section
25218.13.
(2) A "home-generated sharps consolidation point" as defined in
subdivision (b) of Section 117904.
(3) A medical waste generator's facility pursuant to Section
118147.
(4) A facility through the use of a medical waste mail-back
container approved by the department pursuant to subdivision (b) of
Section 118245.
(5) A facility or other home-generated sharps collection point
operated pursuant to a home-generated sharps stewardship plan
approved pursuant to Article 3.3 (commencing with Section 47115) of
Chapter 1 of Part 7 of Division 30 of the Public Resources Code.
SEC. 3. Article 3.3 (commencing with Section 47115) of Chapter 1
of Part 7 of Division 30 of the Public Resources Code is repealed.
SEC. 4. Article 3.3 (commencing with Section 47115) is added to
Chapter 1 of Part 7 of Division 30 of the Public Resources Code, to
read:
Article 3.3. Safe Home-Generated Sharps Recovery Program
47115. The Legislature finds and declares that the purpose of the
safe home-generated sharps recovery program established by this
article is to require the producers of injection devices to develop
and implement a program to collect, transport, and process
home-generated sharps, thereby reducing the costs, public health
risks, and environmental impacts of the illegal and unsafe disposal
of home-generated sharps in this state.
47116. 47115. For purposes of this
article, the following terms have the following meanings:
(a) "Baseline" is a percentage that is determined by dividing the
estimated weight of home-generated sharps collected in the calendar
year by the estimated weight of home-generated sharps sold in the
previous calendar year.
(a)
(b) "Consumer" means a person that purchases or owns
home-generated sharps.
(b)
(c) "Distributor" means a person that sells sharps or
provides sharps for free to the general public for home use, which
may include, but is not limited to, a retailer, a veterinarian, or a
health clinic, health dispensary, or health facility licensed under
Division 2 (commencing with Section 1200) of the Health and Safety
Code.
(c)
(d) "Home-generated sharps" means hypodermic needles,
syringes with needles attached, pen needles, intravenous needles,
lancets, or any other similar device intended to
self-inject medication at home.
(e) "Home-generated sharps stewardship plan" or "plan" means a
plan submitted by an individual producer or by a stewardship
organization on behalf of one or more producers.
(f) "Producer" means, with regard to home-generated sharps that
are sold, offered for sale, or distributed in the state, one of the
following:
(1) The person who manufactures home-generated sharps and who
sells, offers for sale, or distributes those home-generated sharps in
the state under that person's own name or brand.
(2) If there is no person who sells, offers for sale, or
distributes home-generated sharps in the state under the person's own
name or brand, the producer of the home-generated sharps is the
owner or licensee of a trademark or brand under which the
home-generated sharps are sold or distributed in the state, whether
or not the trademark is registered.
(3) If there is no person who is a producer of the sharps for
purposes of paragraphs (1) and (2), the producer of those sharps is
the person who imports the home-generated sharps into the state for
sale or distribution.
(d)
(g) "Program" means the program implementing an
approved home-generated sharps stewardship plan.
(e)
(h) "Retailer" means a person that sells home-generated
sharps in the state to a consumer. A sale includes, but is not
limited to, a transaction conducted through sales outlets, catalogs,
or the Internet or any other similar electronic means.
(f)
(i) "Stewardship organization" means a nonprofit
organization created by one or more producers that also includes at
least four additional members, who shall be representatives from each
of the following entities, but not more than one representative per
entity, to the extent that the other entities do not have a
representative:
(1) A local government.
(2) A distributor.
(3) A solid waste hauler.
(4) A consumer health organization that will implement
the home-generated sharps stewardship plan .
(g) "Home-generated sharps stewardship plan" or "plan" means a
plan submitted by an individual producer or by a stewardship
organization on behalf of one or more producers.
(h) "Producer" means, with regard to home-generated sharps that
are sold, offered for sale, or distributed in the state, one of the
following:
(1) The person who manufactures home-generated sharps and who
sells, offers for sale, or distributes those home-generated sharps in
the state under that person's own name or brand.
(2) If there is no person who sells, offers for sale, or
distributes home-generated sharps in the state under the person's own
name or brand, the producer of the home-generated sharps is the
owner or licensee of a trademark or brand under which the
home-generated sharps are sold or distributed in the state, whether
or not the trademark is registered.
(3) If there is no person who is a producer of the sharps for
purposes of paragraphs (1) and (2), the producer of those sharps is
the person who imports the home-generated sharps into the state for
sale or distribution.
(i)
(j) "Stakeholder" means a person that is subject to, or
will participate in, the program that will be implemented by a
proposed home-generated sharps stewardship plan, including, but not
limited to, consumers, retailers, distributors, and health care
providers and facilities.
47116. A pharmaceutical manufacturer that sells or distributes a
medication in the state that is usually intended to be self-injected
at home through the use of a home-generated sharp shall submit, on or
before July 1, 2010, and annually thereafter, to the department, or
its successor agency, a plan that describes how the manufacturer
supports the safe collection and proper disposal of the
home-generated sharps.
47117. (a) A producer or retailer shall not sell or offer for
sale in this state home-generated sharps to a person in this state
unless the producer of those home-generated sharps is in compliance
with this article.
(b) The sales prohibition specified in subdivision (a) shall apply
no earlier than 120 days after the date that the department posts on
its Internet Web site a list of producers for which the department
has approved a plan pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of
Section 47121.
(c) The sales prohibition specified in subdivision (a) shall apply
until the producer of the home-generated sharps is listed as
compliant on the department's Internet Web site or demonstrates
compliance pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 47122.
47118. 47117. (a) On or before April
1, 2015, a producer or a stewardship organization designated by the
producer shall submit a home-generated sharps stewardship plan to the
department. The home-generated sharps stewardship plan shall also be
posted on the Internet Web site of the producer or stewardship
organization. The plan shall provide for the implementation of the
plan for each calendar year, commencing January 1, 2016.
(b) The producer, group of producers, or stewardship organization
shall consult with stakeholders during the development of the
home-generated sharps stewardship plan, including soliciting
stakeholder comments and responding to stakeholder comments, and
shall document those comments in the plan.
(c) The home-generated sharps stewardship plan shall provide for
the development and implementation of a recovery program to reduce
the generation of, and manage the end of life of, home-generated
sharps, in an environmentally sound and medically safe manner,
including collecting, transporting, processing, and disposing. The
plan shall include, at a minimum, all of the following elements:
(1) Contact information for all participating producers.
(2) Procedures for calculating the collection rate for the
home-generated sharps subject to the plan, which shall be determined
using, as a baseline, the number of home-generated sharps collected
by all producers subject to the plan, by weight, during the 2014
calendar year, as compared to the average number of home-generated
sharps that are sold in the state during the 2013 calendar year by
producers that are subject to the plan.
(3) Provisions to meet the minimum collection rate for the
home-generated sharps subject to the plan, which shall be determined
in the following manner:
(A) On and after January 1, 2016, the minimum collection rate
shall be _____ 25 percent of
the average above the baseline number of
home-generated sharps that are sold in the state during the
previous three calendar years by the producers who are subject to the
plan. the 2014 calendar year, as established by the
department pursuant to paragraph (2).
(B) On and after January 1, 2017, the minimum collection rate
shall be _____ 20 percent of the
average number of home-generated sharps that are
sold in the state during the previous three
calendar years year by the producers
who are subject to the plan.
(C) On and after January 1, 2018, and annually thereafter, the
collection rate shall be determined pursuant to Section
47120. 47119.
(4) (A) A demonstration of sufficient funding for the
home-generated sharps stewardship program proposed by the plan,
including a funding mechanism for securing and dispersing funds to
cover administrative, operational, and capital costs.
(B) The plan shall require the producer, and not consumers, to be
responsible for implementing the home-generated sharps stewardship
program.
(C) The plan shall require that any surplus funds provided to
implement the home-generated sharps stewardship program be used only
to implement the program.
(5) Coordinate the home-generated sharps stewardship program with
existing local medical waste collection programs, to the extent this
requirement is reasonably feasible and mutually agreeable by those
programs.
(6) Programs to reduce the number of postconsumer sharps that are
illegally disposed of, and to maximize the proper end-of-life
management of home-generated sharps, including the collection of
home-generated sharps, as practical, based on current medical waste
program information.
(7) Education and outreach efforts for consumers, the medical
community, and retailers that would promote the collection of
home-generated sharps. This information may include, but is not
limited to, developing, and updating as necessary, educational and
other outreach materials aimed at all retailers and distributors of
home-generated sharps. These materials shall be made available to
those parties and may include, but are not limited to, one or more of
the following:
(A) Signage that is prominently displayed and easily visible to
the consumer.
(B) Written materials and templates of materials for reproduction
by retailers to be provided to the consumer at the time of purchase
or delivery, or both. These written materials shall include
information on the prohibition of the improper disposal of
home-generated sharps.
(C) Advertising or other promotional materials, or both, that
include references to home-generated sharps collection opportunities
and the prohibition on the improper disposal of home-generated
sharps.
(8) Methods for demonstrating to the department that the program
implemented pursuant to the plan achieves the maximum improvement
possible in achieving the minimum collection rate.
(9) The establishment of at least one home-generated sharps
collection point in every county in the state, but no less than one
home-generated sharps collection point for every 5,000 people in the
state.
47119. 47118. A retailer may
voluntarily participate as a home-generated sharps collection point
pursuant to the home-generated sharps stewardship program.
47120. 47119. On or before January
1, 2018, the department shall consult with producers, stewardship
organizations, local government, solid waste haulers, the health
community, and all other stakeholders regarding the program
performance. The department shall set a fair and reasonable minimum
collection rate for the 2018 calendar year and for each subsequent
calendar year to achieve the goal of safely managing all
home-generated sharps in this state.
47121. 47120. (a) The department
shall review a home-generated sharps stewardship plan submitted
pursuant to Section 47118 47117 within
90 days of receipt. The department shall approve the plan if the
department determines the plan provides for the establishment of a
home-generated sharps stewardship program that meets the requirements
of Section 47118. 47117. If the
department does not approve the plan, the department shall allow the
producer or stewardship organization to resubmit the plan within 90
days after receiving notice of disapproval from the department.
(b) (1) The approved plan shall be a public record, except that
financial, production, or sales data reported to the department by a
producer or by the stewardship organization is not a public record
under the California Public Records Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with
Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code) and
shall not be open to public inspection.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the department may release a
summary form of financial, production, or sales data if the
department does not disclose financial, production, or sales data of
a producer or stewardship organization.
(c) On or before _____ , July 1, 2015,
or three months after a plan is approved pursuant to
subdivision (a), whichever is later, but no later than January 1,
2016, the producer or stewardship organization shall implement the
home-generated sharps stewardship program described in the approved
plan.
47122. 47121. (a) (1) On January 1,
2016, or upon the date the first plan is approved, whichever is
earlier, the department shall post on its Internet Web site a list of
producers for which the department has approved a plan pursuant to
subdivision (a) of Section 42121. 42120.
The department shall update this posting no less than once
every six months thereafter.
(2) On and after July 1, 2016, the department shall post a notice
on its Internet Web site listing producers that are in compliance
with this article and shall update this posting no less than once
every six months.
(b) A producer that is not listed on the department's Internet Web
site pursuant to this section, but that demonstrates to the
satisfaction of the department that it is in compliance with this
chapter before the next notice is required to be posted pursuant to
this section, may request a certification letter from the department
stating that the producer is in compliance. The producer who receives
that letter shall be deemed to be in compliance with this chapter.
(c) A wholesaler, health facility, as defined in Section 1250 of
the Health and Safety Code, retailer, or other distributor that
distributes or sells home-generated sharps shall monitor the
department's Internet Web site to determine if the sale of a producer'
s home-generated sharps is in compliance with this chapter.
47123. 47122. On or before April 1,
2017, and every subsequent year thereafter, each producer or sharps
stewardship organization implementing a plan shall prepare and submit
to the department an annual report describing the activities carried
out pursuant to the plan during the previous calendar year,
commencing with the 2016 calendar year. The annual report shall
include, but is not limited to, all of the following elements:
(a) The number of home-generated sharps collected by the program
in the previous calendar year and the collection rate achieved in the
previous calendar year.
(b) A report of the total sales data for sharps sold to
distributors in the state for the previous calendar year.
(c) A report on the feedback from a stakeholders' meeting, that
shall be hosted by the producers subject to the plan and made
available by Webcast, prior to submittal of the annual report.
(d) Independently audited financial statements that detail the
financing method selected to sustainably fund the implementation of
the plan to achieve the minimum collection rates described in the
plan, pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (c) of Section
47118. 47117.
(e) Examples and descriptions of educational materials distributed
to various stakeholders aimed at increasing collection.
(f) An evaluation of the effectiveness of the program specific to
collection, public awareness, convenience, and reduced improper
disposal associated with both legal and illegal drug use.
(g) Any programmatic changes the producer or the stewardship
organization recommends based on new data provided in the report.
(h) The location, hours, and contact information for all
home-generated sharps collection points established pursuant to the
plan, including a certification that this information is accurate,
that a home-generated sharps collection point has been established in
every county in the state, and that the number of home-generated
sharps collection points is equal to at least one for every
5,000 25,000 people in the state.
47124. 47123. (a) The department
shall review the annual report submitted pursuant to Section
47123, 47122, including reviewing the accuracy
of the list of home-generated sharps collection points that are
certified to be established pursuant to the plan, and the data used
to determine the collection rate, including sales and collection
data. The department shall also determine whether all of the elements
specified in subdivisions (a) to (h), inclusive, of Section
47123 47122 are included in the report.
(b) If the annual report does not demonstrate that the program has
achieved a collection rate increase of ___ percent,
pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (c) of
Section 47117, the department may require the program to take
additional actions with regard to improving and increasing the number
of home-generated sharps collection points, ensuring accessibility
to those points, and providing additional education and outreach
activities.
(c) If the department does not disapprove a report within 45 days
of receipt, the report shall be deemed approved by the department.
(d) The department shall make all reports submitted to the
department pursuant to this section available to the public on the
department's Internet Web site.
47125. 47124. If the department
determines that the collection rate for the home-generated sharps
subject to a plan meets 95 percent, the department may exempt a
producer or stewardship organization from any or all of the elements
required to be included in the annual report specified in Section
47123. 47122.
47126. 47125. (a) A producer or
stewardship organization submitting a plan to the department shall
pay the department an annual administrative fee pursuant to
subdivision (b).
(b) The department shall impose the annual fee in an amount that
is sufficient to cover the department's full costs of administering
and enforcing this article, including any program development costs
or regulatory costs incurred by the department prior to the submittal
of the plan. The department shall deposit the fees in the Safe
Sharps Disposal Account, which is hereby established in the
Integrated Waste Management Fund. The department may expend the
moneys in the Safe Sharps Disposal Account, upon appropriation by the
Legislature, to administer and enforce this article.
47127. 47126. (a) The department
shall enforce this article and may impose an administrative civil
penalty on a person who violates this article in an amount of up to
one thousand dollars ($1,000) per violation per day.
(b) The department may impose an administrative civil penalty on a
person who intentionally, knowingly, or negligently violates this
article in an amount of up to ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per
violation per day.
(c) (1) The department may impose the civil penalty specified in
subdivision (a) or (b) on a producer or stewardship organization for
which the annual report submitted does not demonstrate that the
____ percent minimum collection rate has been
achieved. achieved pursuant to subdivision
(b) of Section 47123. In lieu of imposing a civil penalty, the
department may require a producer or stewardship organization to take
additional actions to comply with this article.
(2) In assessing a penalty pursuant to this subdivision on a
producer or stewardship organization, the department shall consider
any exigent circumstance that contributed to the producer or
stewardship organization not meeting the required minimum collection
rate.
(d) The department shall deposit all penalties collected pursuant
to this section into the Safe Sharps Disposal Penalty Account, which
is hereby created in the Integrated Waste Management Fund. Upon
appropriation by the Legislature, moneys deposited into the Safe
Sharps Disposal Penalty Account may be expended by the department to
enforce this article.
47129. 47127. (a) Except as
provided in subdivision (c), an action solely to increase the
collection of home-generated sharps by a producer, stewardship
organization, or retailer that affects the types or quantities being
collected, or the cost and structure of any program implementing a
stewardship plan, is not a violation of the statutes specified in
subdivision (b).
(b) The following statutes are not violated by an action specified
in subdivision (a):
(1) The Cartwright Act (Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 16700)
of Part 2 of Division 7 of the Business and Professions Code).
(2) The Unfair Practices Act (Chapter 4 (commencing with Section
17000) of Part 2 of Division 7 of the Business and Professions Code).
(c) Subdivision (a) shall not apply to any
an agreement establishing or affecting the price of
home-generated sharps or the output or production of home-generated
sharps, or any sharps or an agreement
restricting the geographic area or customers to which home-generated
sharps will be sold.
