By: Zerwas, Villalba (Senate Sponsor - Creighton) H.B. No. 2244
(In the Senate - Received from the House April 28, 2015;
May 4, 2015, read first time and referred to Committee on Natural
Resources and Economic Development; May 13, 2015, reported
favorably by the following vote: Yeas 10, Nays 0; May 13, 2015,
sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the regulation of medical waste; adding and amending
provisions subject to a criminal penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 361.003, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by adding Subdivisions (14-a) and (18-a) to read as
follows:
(14-a) "Health care-related facility" means a
facility listed under 25 T.A.C. Section 1.134. The term does not
include:
(A) a single-family or multifamily dwelling; or
(B) a hotel, motel, or other establishment that
provides lodging and related services for the public.
(18-a) "Medical waste" means treated and untreated
special waste from health care-related facilities composed of
animal waste, bulk blood, bulk human blood, bulk human body fluids,
microbiological waste, pathological waste, and sharps, as those
terms are defined by 25 T.A.C. Section 1.132, as well as regulated
medical waste, as that term is defined by 49 C.F.R. Section 173.134.
The term does not include:
(A) waste produced on a farm or ranch as defined
by 34 T.A.C. Section 3.296(f); or
(B) artificial, nonhuman materials removed from
a patient and requested by the patient, including orthopedic
devices and breast implants.
SECTION 2. Subchapter C, Chapter 361, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Section 361.0905 to read as follows:
Sec. 361.0905. REGULATION OF MEDICAL WASTE. (a) The
commission is responsible under this section for the regulation of
the handling, transportation, storage, and disposal of medical
waste.
(b) The commission shall accomplish the purposes of this
chapter by requiring a permit, registration, or other authorization
for and otherwise regulating the handling, storage, disposal, and
transportation of medical waste. The commission shall adopt rules
as necessary to accomplish the purposes of this subchapter.
(c) The commission has the powers and duties specifically
prescribed by this chapter relating to medical waste regulation and
all other powers necessary or convenient to carry out those
responsibilities under this chapter.
(d) In matters relating to medical waste regulation, the
commission shall consider water pollution control and water quality
aspects, air pollution control and ambient air quality aspects, and
the protection of human health and safety.
(e) Rules adopted to regulate the operation of municipal
solid waste storage and processing units apply in the same manner to
medical waste only to the extent that the rules address:
(1) permit and registration requirements that can be
made applicable to a facility that handles medical waste, including
requirements related to:
(A) applications;
(B) site development;
(C) notice; and
(D) permit or registration duration and limits;
(2) minor modifications to permits and registrations,
including changes in operating hours and buffer zones;
(3) the reconciliation of conflicting site operation
plan provisions for a site that conducts activities that require a
separate permit or authorization;
(4) waste acceptance and analysis;
(5) facility-generated waste, including wastewater
and sludge;
(6) contaminated water management;
(7) on-site storage areas for source-separated or
recyclable materials;
(8) the storage of waste:
(A) to prevent the waste from becoming a hazard,
including a fire hazard, to human health or safety;
(B) to ensure the use of sufficient containers
between collections; and
(C) to prevent the waste from becoming litter;
(9) closure requirements for storage and processing
units;
(10) recordkeeping and reporting requirements, except
for rules regarding the recordkeeping provisions required to
justify the levels of recovered recycled products;
(11) fire protection;
(12) access control;
(13) unloading waste;
(14) spill prevention and control;
(15) operating hours;
(16) facility signage;
(17) control of litter, including windblown material;
(18) noise pollution and visual screening;
(19) capacity overloading and mechanical breakdown;
(20) sanitation, including employee sanitation
facilities;
(21) ventilation and air pollution control, except as
those rules apply to:
(A) process areas where putrescible waste is
processed;
(B) the minimal air exposure for liquid waste;
and
(C) the cleaning and maintenance of mobile waste
processing unit equipment; and
(22) facility health and safety plans, including
employee training in health and safety.
(f) Medical waste facilities, on-site treatment services
and mobile treatment units that send treated medical waste and
treated medical waste including sharps or residuals of sharps to a
solid waste landfill must include a statement to the solid waste
landfill that the shipment has been treated by an approved method in
accordance with 25 T.A.C. Section 1.136 (relating to Approved
Methods of Treatment and Disposition). Home generated wastes are
exempted from this requirement.
(g) In a facility that handles medical waste processing or
storage, the commission shall not require a minimum separating
distance greater than 25 feet between the processing equipment or
storage area, and the facility boundary owned or controlled by the
owner or operator. A medical waste storage unit is not subject to
this subsection, provided that medical waste contained in transport
vehicles is refrigerated below 45 degrees if the waste is in the
vehicle longer than 72 hours. The commission may consider
alternatives to the buffer zone requirements of this subsection for
permitted, registered, or otherwise authorized medical waste
processing and storage facilities.
SECTION 3. Section 7.141(4), Water Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(4) "Medical waste" has the meaning assigned by
Section 361.003, Health and Safety [includes animal waste, bulk
blood and blood products, microbiological waste, pathological
waste, sharps, and special waste from health care-related
facilities as those terms are defined in 25 T.A.C. Section 1.132
(Texas Department of Health, Definition, Treatment, and
Disposition of Special Waste from Health Care-Related Facilities).
The term does not include medical waste produced on farmland and
ranchland as defined by Section 252.001(6), Agriculture] Code.
SECTION 4. Section 361.560, Health and Safety Code, as
amended by S.B. 219, Acts of the 84th Legislature, Regular Session,
2015, is repealed.
SECTION 5. (a) Not later than June 1, 2016, the Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality shall adopt rules to implement
the changes in law made by this Act. The rules must be adopted in the
form of a new chapter of the Texas Administrative Code that includes
all rules of the commission relating to medical waste regulation.
(b) Rules adopted to implement the changes in law made by
this Act must minimize the effect on other rules regulating
municipal solid waste facilities.
SECTION 6. A facility that has a permit, registration,
pending permit application, or other authorization that allows the
handling of medical waste is not required to comply with the changes
in law made by this Act until rules adopted by the Texas Commission
on Environmental Quality to implement the changes in law made by
this Act take effect. Any change to a permit, registration, or
other authorization in effect on the effective date of this Act that
is necessary to implement the changes in law made by this Act may be
authorized without notice and comment and shall not be referred for
a contested case proceeding.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
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