H.B. No. 2244

	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.
	______________________________	______________________________
	President of the Senate	Speaker of the House
	I certify that H.B. No. 2244 was passed by the House on April
	27, 2015, by the following vote:  Yeas 141, Nays 2, 1 present, not
	voting.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House
	I certify that H.B. No. 2244 was passed by the Senate on May
	20, 2015, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays 0.
	______________________________
	Secretary of the Senate
	APPROVED:  _____________________
	Date
	_____________________
	Governor