California 2013-2014 Regular Session Status: Enacted

AB 333 — Medical waste.

Last action — Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 564, Statutes of 2014.

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. ✓
    Passed Assembly
  4. ✓
    Passed Senate
  5. ✓
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced February 13, 2013. Enacted.

Odds of enactment

High chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a high chance of becoming law.

Upgrade to see the exact probability and what's driving it.

A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Likely to advance 70% · moderate confidence

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 1 sponsor

    1 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 9 recorded votes so far.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

Summary

(1) Existing law, the Medical Waste Management Act, regulates the disposal of medical waste, including requiring specified biohazard materials to be disposed of in biohazard bags and requiring specified treatment for medical waste. Transportation, storage, treatment, or disposal of medical waste in a manner not authorized by the act is a crime. Existing law defines specified terms for purposes of the Medical Waste Management Act, including "biohazard bag," "medical waste management plan," "sharps container," "tracking document," and "treatment." Under existing law, health care professionals who generate medical waste are generally required to have medical waste transported by a registered hazardous waste transporter. This bill would require the State Department of Public Health to submit a report to the Legislature by no later than January 1, 2016, describing the interaction of federal and state law for the transport of regulated medical waste and would require the department to convene a stakeholder group for that purpose. The bill would authorize the department to update standards related to the transportation of medical waste during transport through a guidance document, as specified. The bill would authorize the department to temporarily waive the transportation requirements of this bill while a federal preemption determination is pending, as specified. The bill would provide that during this period of temporary waiver, or if federal preemption is found, the federal requirements would be deemed to be the law of this state and enforceable by the department. The bill would also redefine specified terms for purposes of the act, including those above, and add definitions of new terms, including shipping document and chemotherapeutic agent. The bill would include all subsets of waste in the definition of treatment. The bill would also authorize the color coding of biohazard bags, as specified. (2) Existing law authorizes a local agency to adopt a medical waste management program to, among other things, issue medical waste registrations and permits and inspect medical waste generators and treatment facilities, and requires the local agency, if it elects to do so, to notify the department. Under existing law, if the local agency chooses not to adopt a medical waste management program or if the department withdraws its designation, then the department is the enforcement agency. Existing law requires the department to impose and cause to be collected an annual medical waste generator fee, as specified. Existing law authorizes the department to contract with a medical waste transporter or provider of medical waste mail-back systems for the collection of these fees and authorizes the collecting body to recover not more than 5% of the fees as administrative costs. This bill would remove the ability of the department to use medical waste mail-back systems for the collection of these fees and would authorize medical waste transporters that collect these fees to recover up to 7.5% as administrative costs. (3) Under the act, medical waste generators, including large quantity generators and small quantity generators, are subject to various requirements relating to registration, record retention, and transportation of medical waste. This bill would revise the registration procedures and the record requirements for large quantity and small quantity generators. The bill would require large and small quantity generators that operate treatment equipment to receive annual training to operate the equipment. The bill would exempt from regulation as a hazardous waste hauler a small quantity generator or large quantity generator that meets specified requirements, including retaining specified documentation and complying with certain federal requirements relating to a materials of trade exception. The bill would make technical, conforming, and clarifying changes relating to these provisions. Existing law prohibits a large quantity generator from generating medical waste unless the large quantity generator is registered with the enforcement agency and requires small quantity generators to register with the local enforcement agency. This bill would authorize a registered large quantity or small quantity medical waste generator to generate medical waste at a temporary event, including vaccination clinics, and would require the large quantity or small quantity generator to notify the enforcement agency of its participation at such an event at least 72 hours before the event, except as provided. (4) Existing law requires that all medical waste be hauled by either a registered hazardous waste hauler or by a person with an approved limited-quantity exemption granted pursuant to specified provisions of law. Existing law also specifies treatment methods and processes that medical waste treatment facilities are required to use, including requiring heat sensitive tape to show that materials went through a heat process, and requires a medical waste treatment facility to be permitted by the department. This bill would make various changes to the provisions relating to medical waste haulers, including removing provisions that conflict with the United States Department of Transportation regulation of those entities, authorizing a registered trauma scene waste practitioner, as specified, to haul medical waste, and making changes to the information medical waste haulers are required to provide to the department annually. This bill would also make various changes to the provisions relating to medical waste treatment facilities, including specifying the decontamination methods for a closure plan, lowering the time period for which records are maintained from 3 to 2 years, and authorizing the use of electronic information for operating records and shipping and tracking documents. (5) Existing law exempts from specified provisions of the act, a person who is authorized to collect solid waste and who unknowingly transports medical waste to a solid waste facility, incidental to the collection of solid waste. This bill would exempt those persons from the entire act, with regard to that waste, and would require the solid waste transporter to contact the originating generator of the medical waste to respond to the facility to provide ultimate proper disposal of the medical waste. (6) Existing law requires that animals that die of infectious diseases be treated as medical waste, as specified, if, in the opinion of the attending veterinarian or local health officer, the carcass presents a danger of infection to humans. This bill would require the carcasses of animals that have died of infectious diseases or that have been euthanized because of suspected exposure to infectious disease to be treated with a treatment technology approved by the department if, in the opinion of the attending veterinarian or local health officer, the carcass presents a danger of infection to humans. By expanding the definition of a crime, this bill would create a state-mandated local program. 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.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 564, Statutes of 2014.

  2. Approved by the Governor.

  3. Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 4 p.m.

  4. Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 74. Noes 2. Page 6722.).

  5. Assembly Rule 63 suspended. (Page 6717.)

  6. From committee: That the Senate amendments be concurred in. (Ayes 6. Noes 0.) (August 29).

  7. Joint Rule 62(a), file notice suspended. (Page 6635.)

  8. Re-referred to Com. on E.S. & T.M. pursuant to Assembly Rule 77.2.

  9. In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending. May be considered on or after August 29 pursuant to Assembly Rule 77.

  10. Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 33. Noes 0. Page 4890.).

  11. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  12. Read third time and amended. Ordered to second reading.

  13. Read second time and amended. Ordered to third reading.

  14. From committee: Do pass as amended. (Ayes 5. Noes 0.) (August 14).

  15. In committee: Placed on APPR. suspense file.

  16. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  17. From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (June 18).

  18. From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on E.Q.

  19. From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on E.Q.

  20. From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on E.Q.

  21. Referred to Com. on E.Q.

  22. In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.

  23. Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 67. Noes 6. Page 1564.)

  24. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  25. From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 17. Noes 0.) (May 15).

  26. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  27. From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on APPR. Read second time and amended.

  28. In committee: Hearing postponed by committee.

  29. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (April 16). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  30. Measure version as amended on March 12 corrected.

  31. Re-referred to Com. on E.S. & T.M.

  32. From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on E.S. & T.M. Read second time and amended.

  33. Referred to Com. on E.S. & T.M.

  34. From printer. May be heard in committee March 16.

  35. Read first time. To print.

Sponsors

  • Wieckowski · Primary

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 121 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

  • Wieckowski

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (121)

121 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 121 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

AB 333 WIECKOWSKI Concurrence in Senate Amendments

Passed 74 Yea · 2 Nay · 3 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 68202
Democratic 4000
Republican 2001
Total 74203
% of votes cast 94%3%0%4%
How each member voted (79)
Member Party Vote
Achadjian — Yea
Ammiano — Yea
Bradford — Yea
Brown — Yea
Buchanan — Yea
Jones-Sawyer — Yea
Linder — Yea
Logue — Yea
Mansoor — Nay
Nestande — Yea
Perea — Yea
Rendon — Yea
Wagner — Yea
Waldron — Yea
Wilk — Yea
Gorell — Yea
Hagman — Yea
Lowenthal — Yea
Bigelow — Yea
Ridley-Thomas — Yea
Skinner — Yea
Garcia — Yea
Frazier — Yea
Gray — Yea
Atkins — Yea
Gomez — Yea
Fong — Yea
Campos — Yea
Chau — Yea
Bonilla — Yea
Hall — Yea
Harkey — Yea
Holden — Yea
Levine — Yea
Maienschein — Yea
Bocanegra — Yea
Medina — Yea
John A. Pérez — Yea
Melendez — Yea
Salas — Yea
Mullin — Yea
Nazarian — Yea
Chesbro — Yea
Olsen — Yea
Pan — Yea
Alejo — Yea
Bloom — Yea
Chávez — Yea
Conway — Yea
Cooley — Yea
Dababneh — Yea
Donnelly — Nay
Eggman — Yea
Quirk — Yea
Rodriguez — Yea
Ting — Yea
Weber — Yea
Wieckowski — Yea
Williams — Yea
Allen — Not Voting
Daly — Yea
Dickinson — Yea
Fox — Yea
Gatto — Yea
Yamada — Yea
Gordon — Yea
Beth Gaines — Yea
Jim Patterson — Not Voting
Lorena Gonzalez — Yea
Mark Stone — Yea
Roger Hernández — Yea
V. Manuel Pérez — Yea
Bonta, Mia Democratic Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Muratsuchi, Al Democratic Yea
Quirk-Silva, Sharon Democratic Yea
Dahle, Megan Republican Yea
Grove, Shannon Republican Not Voting
Jones, Brian W. Republican Yea

Official roll call →

amendments be concurred in.

Passed 6 Yea · 0 Nay · 1 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 5001
Republican 1000
Total 6001
% of votes cast 86%0%0%14%
How each member voted (7)
Member Party Vote
Alejo — Yea
Bloom — Yea
Ting — Yea
Lowenthal — Yea
Gomez — Yea
Donnelly — Not Voting
Dahle, Megan Republican Yea

Official roll call →

3rd Reading AB333 Wieckowski By Hill

Passed 33 Yea · 0 Nay · 7 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 31006
Democratic 2001
Total 33007
% of votes cast 83%0%0%18%
How each member voted (40)
Member Party Vote
Anderson — Yea
Beall — Yea
Hernandez — Yea
Huff — Yea
Lara — Yea
Liu — Yea
Nielsen — Yea
Roth — Yea
Vidak — Yea
Wright — Not Voting
Corbett — Yea
Correa — Yea
Wyland — Yea
Cannella — Yea
Fuller — Yea
Galgiani — Yea
Hancock — Not Voting
Hill — Yea
Mitchell — Not Voting
Block — Yea
Hueso — Yea
Knight — Yea
Leno — Yea
Lieu — Not Voting
Monning — Yea
Morrell — Yea
Pavley — Yea
Steinberg — Yea
Torres — Yea
Walters — Yea
Wolk — Yea
De León — Not Voting
Evans — Yea
DeSaulnier — Yea
Yee — Not Voting
Beth Gaines — Yea
Bill Berryhill — Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Not Voting
Jackson, Corey A. Democratic Yea
Padilla, Stephen C. Democratic Yea

Official roll call →

Do pass as amended.

Passed 5 Yea · 0 Nay · 2 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 4002
Democratic 1000
Total 5002
% of votes cast 71%0%0%29%
How each member voted (7)
Member Party Vote
Hill — Yea
Walters — Not Voting
De León — Yea
Lara — Yea
Steinberg — Yea
Beth Gaines — Not Voting
Padilla, Stephen C. Democratic Yea

Official roll call →

AB 333 WIECKOWSKI Assembly Third Reading

Passed 67 Yea · 6 Nay · 5 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 58603
Democratic 7000
Republican 2002
Total 67605
% of votes cast 86%8%0%6%
How each member voted (78)
Member Party Vote
Achadjian — Yea
Ammiano — Yea
Bloom — Yea
Blumenfield — Yea
Bradford — Yea
Brown — Yea
Buchanan — Yea
Levine — Yea
Linder — Yea
Mansoor — Not Voting
Olsen — Yea
Perea — Yea
Rendon — Yea
Wagner — Yea
Williams — Yea
Stone — Yea
Lowenthal — Yea
Gatto — Yea
Gray — Yea
Atkins — Yea
Gomez — Yea
Mitchell — Yea
Campos — Yea
Chau — Yea
Bonilla — Yea
Gordon — Yea
Gorell — Yea
Hall — Yea
Harkey — Yea
Jones-Sawyer — Yea
Logue — Yea
Bocanegra — Yea
Maienschein — Yea
John A. Pérez — Yea
Salas — Yea
Medina — Yea
Chesbro — Yea
Melendez — Yea
Morrell — Yea
Mullin — Yea
Nazarian — Yea
Alejo — Yea
Bigelow — Nay
Chávez — Nay
Cooley — Yea
Daly — Yea
Dickinson — Yea
Donnelly — Nay
Eggman — Yea
Nestande — Yea
Pan — Yea
Quirk — Yea
Skinner — Yea
Ting — Yea
Weber — Yea
Wieckowski — Yea
Holden — Not Voting
Conway — Nay
Waldron — Not Voting
Wilk — Nay
Fox — Yea
Frazier — Yea
Yamada — Yea
Hagman — Nay
Beth Gaines — Yea
Roger Hernández — Yea
V. Manuel Pérez — Yea
Allen, Benjamin Democratic Yea
Bonta, Mia Democratic Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Fong, Mike Democratic Yea
Garcia, Robert Democratic Yea
Muratsuchi, Al Democratic Yea
Quirk-Silva, Sharon Democratic Yea
Dahle, Megan Republican Yea
Grove, Shannon Republican Not Voting
Jones, Brian W. Republican Not Voting
Patterson, Joe Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Do pass.

Passed 17 Yea · 0 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 16000
Democratic 1000
Total 17000
% of votes cast 100%0%0%0%
How each member voted (17)
Member Party Vote
Bigelow — Yea
Bradford — Yea
Harkey — Yea
Linder — Yea
Pan — Yea
Quirk — Yea
Gomez — Yea
Eggman — Yea
Hall — Yea
Campos — Yea
Bocanegra — Yea
Donnelly — Yea
Rendon — Yea
Wagner — Yea
Weber — Yea
Gatto — Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

public-safety environment healthcare labor
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does AB 333 do?
(1) Existing law, the Medical Waste Management Act, regulates the disposal of medical waste, including requiring specified biohazard materials to be disposed of in biohazard bags and requiring specified treatment for medical waste. Transportation, storage, treatment, or disposal of medical waste in a manner not authorized by the act is a crime. Existing law defines specified terms for purposes of the Medical Waste Management Act, including "biohazard bag," "medical waste management plan," "sharps container," "tracking document," and "treatment." Under existing law, health care professionals who generate medical waste are generally required to have medical waste transported by a registered hazardous waste transporter. This bill would require the State Department of Public Health to submit a report to the Legislature by no later than January 1, 2016, describing the interaction of federal and state law for the transport of regulated medical waste and would require the department to convene a stakeholder group for that purpose. The bill would authorize the department to update standards related to the transportation of medical waste during transport through a guidance document, as specified. The bill would authorize the department to temporarily waive the transportation requirements of this bill while a federal preemption determination is pending, as specified. The bill would provide that during this period of temporary waiver, or if federal preemption is found, the federal requirements would be deemed to be the law of this state and enforceable by the department. The bill would also redefine specified terms for purposes of the act, including those above, and add definitions of new terms, including shipping document and chemotherapeutic agent. The bill would include all subsets of waste in the definition of treatment. The bill would also authorize the color coding of biohazard bags, as specified. (2) Existing law authorizes a local agency to adopt a medical waste management program to, among other things, issue medical waste registrations and permits and inspect medical waste generators and treatment facilities, and requires the local agency, if it elects to do so, to notify the department. Under existing law, if the local agency chooses not to adopt a medical waste management program or if the department withdraws its designation, then the department is the enforcement agency. Existing law requires the department to impose and cause to be collected an annual medical waste generator fee, as specified. Existing law authorizes the department to contract with a medical waste transporter or provider of medical waste mail-back systems for the collection of these fees and authorizes the collecting body to recover not more than 5% of the fees as administrative costs. This bill would remove the ability of the department to use medical waste mail-back systems for the collection of these fees and would authorize medical waste transporters that collect these fees to recover up to 7.5% as administrative costs. (3) Under the act, medical waste generators, including large quantity generators and small quantity generators, are subject to various requirements relating to registration, record retention, and transportation of medical waste. This bill would revise the registration procedures and the record requirements for large quantity and small quantity generators. The bill would require large and small quantity generators that operate treatment equipment to receive annual training to operate the equipment. The bill would exempt from regulation as a hazardous waste hauler a small quantity generator or large quantity generator that meets specified requirements, including retaining specified documentation and complying with certain federal requirements relating to a materials of trade exception. The bill would make technical, conforming, and clarifying changes relating to these provisions. Existing law prohibits a large quantity generator from generating medical waste unless the large quantity generator is registered with the enforcement agency and requires small quantity generators to register with the local enforcement agency. This bill would authorize a registered large quantity or small quantity medical waste generator to generate medical waste at a temporary event, including vaccination clinics, and would require the large quantity or small quantity generator to notify the enforcement agency of its participation at such an event at least 72 hours before the event, except as provided. (4) Existing law requires that all medical waste be hauled by either a registered hazardous waste hauler or by a person with an approved limited-quantity exemption granted pursuant to specified provisions of law. Existing law also specifies treatment methods and processes that medical waste treatment facilities are required to use, including requiring heat sensitive tape to show that materials went through a heat process, and requires a medical waste treatment facility to be permitted by the department. This bill would make various changes to the provisions relating to medical waste haulers, including removing provisions that conflict with the United States Department of Transportation regulation of those entities, authorizing a registered trauma scene waste practitioner, as specified, to haul medical waste, and making changes to the information medical waste haulers are required to provide to the department annually. This bill would also make various changes to the provisions relating to medical waste treatment facilities, including specifying the decontamination methods for a closure plan, lowering the time period for which records are maintained from 3 to 2 years, and authorizing the use of electronic information for operating records and shipping and tracking documents. (5) Existing law exempts from specified provisions of the act, a person who is authorized to collect solid waste and who unknowingly transports medical waste to a solid waste facility, incidental to the collection of solid waste. This bill would exempt those persons from the entire act, with regard to that waste, and would require the solid waste transporter to contact the originating generator of the medical waste to respond to the facility to provide ultimate proper disposal of the medical waste. (6) Existing law requires that animals that die of infectious diseases be treated as medical waste, as specified, if, in the opinion of the attending veterinarian or local health officer, the carcass presents a danger of infection to humans. This bill would require the carcasses of animals that have died of infectious diseases or that have been euthanized because of suspected exposure to infectious disease to be treated with a treatment technology approved by the department if, in the opinion of the attending veterinarian or local health officer, the carcass presents a danger of infection to humans. By expanding the definition of a crime, this bill would create a state-mandated local program. 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.
Who sponsors AB 333?
AB 333 is sponsored by Wieckowski.
What is the current status of AB 333?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced February 13, 2013. Enacted.
Where can I track AB 333?
Track AB 333 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

Make your voice heard on AB 333

Find the representatives who decide this bill and tell them where you stand — for yourself, or mobilize your whole list in one click with One Click Politics advocacy software.

Find my representatives → Run a campaign

Stay ahead of AB 333

Last checked for changes 2 months ago · updated continuously

One Click Politics tracks every bill in Congress and all 50 states.

Track this bill →