Bill Text: CA AB403 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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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

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BILL NUMBER: AB 403	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	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 of, home-generated sharps, and to include specified
elements, including provisions to meet unspecified minimum collection
rates for the home-generated sharps subject to the plan.
   The 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 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 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 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. 
   The bill would also allow a producer who is subject to an approved
plan and in compliance with the bill to bring a civil action to
recover costs, damages, and fees from another producer for failure to
comply with the bill's provisions. 
   (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 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. 
   SECTION 1.   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. 2.   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. 3.   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.  For purposes of this article, the following terms have the
following meanings:
   (a) "Consumer" means a person that purchases or owns
home-generated sharps.
   (b) "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) "Home-generated sharps" means hypodermic needles, syringes
with needles attached, pen needles, intravenous needles, or any other
similar device intended to self-inject medication at home.
   (d) "Program" means the program implementing an approved
home-generated sharps stewardship plan.
   (e) "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) "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) "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.
   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.  (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  
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 _____ percent of the average 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.
   (B) On and after January 1, 2017, the minimum collection rate
shall be _____ percent of the average 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.
   (C) On and after January 1, 2018, and annually thereafter, the
collection rate shall be determined pursuant to Section 47120.
   (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.  A retailer may voluntarily participate as a home-generated
sharps collection point pursuant to the home-generated sharps
stewardship program.
   47120.  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.  (a) The department shall review a home-generated sharps
stewardship plan submitted pursuant to Section 47118 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. 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_____ , 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.  (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. 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.  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.
   (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
people in the state.
   47124.  (a) The department shall review the annual report
submitted pursuant to Section 47123, 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  subdivision   subdivisions 
(a) to (h), inclusive, of Section 47123 are included in the report.
   (b) If the annual report does not demonstrate that the program has
achieved a collection rate increase of ___ percent, 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.  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.
   47126.  (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.  (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. 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. 
   47128.  (a) A producer who is subject to an approved plan and in
compliance with this article may bring a civil action to recover
costs, damages, and fees, as specified in subdivision (c), from
another producer for failure to comply with this article.
   (b) An action under this section may be brought against one or
more producers who is not in compliance with this article, except an
action shall not be commenced under either of the following
circumstances:
   (1) No earlier than 60 days after a written notice of the producer'
s intention to file an action has been provided to the department and
to the producer who is alleged to be noncompliant.
   (2) If the department has commenced an enforcement action against
the producer who is alleged to be noncompliant and is diligently
pursuing that action.
   (c) In an action under this section, the plaintiff may recover
from a producer who has been found to be noncompliant all of the
following:
   (1) The costs the plaintiff incurred in collecting, handling,
recycling, or properly disposing of home-generated sharps reasonably
identified as having originated from the noncompliant producer.
   (2) An amount of damages equal to no more than three times those
costs specified in paragraph (1).
   (3) The plaintiff's attorney's fees and costs of bringing the
action.
   (d) An action to recover the costs specified in this section may
be brought in any court in the state, without regard to the amount in
dispute. 
   47129.  (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 agreement establishing
or affecting the price of home-generated sharps or the output or
production of home-generated sharps, or any agreement restricting the
geographic area or customers to which home-generated sharps will be
sold.