BILL NUMBER: SB 486INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Senator Simitian FEBRUARY 26, 2009 An act to amend Section 118285 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to medical waste. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 486, as introduced, Simitian. Medical waste: sharps waste. Existing law, the Medical Waste Management Act, administered by the State Department of Public Health, regulates the management and handling of medical waste, which includes, but is not limited to, sharps waste. Existing law prescribes how sharps waste must be containerized or stored. This bill would make a technical, nonsubstantive change to provisions relating to sharps waste. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 118285 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read: 118285. To containerize sharps waste, a person shall do all of the following: (a) Place all sharps waste into a sharps container. (b) Tape closed or tightly lid full sharps containers ready for disposal to preclude the loss of contents. (c) Store sharps containers ready for disposal for not more thanthirty30 days without the written approval of the enforcement agency. (d) Label sharps containers with the words "sharps waste" or with the international biohazard symbol and the word "BIOHAZARD."