The bill would require the board to complete the regulation adoption process and would require the final regulation to be operative no later than August 1, 1999. Because certain violations of these new requirements would be a misdemeanor, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the Division of Occupational Safety and Health to create an advisory committee with prescribed membership to review the changes in the board's regulation mandated by the bill and to report thereon to the Legislature by December 31, 2002. The bill would require the division and the State Department of Health Services to jointly compile and make available a list of needleless systems and needles with engineered needle stick protection. 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. Those circumstances shall be specified in the standard, and shall include, but not be limited to, circumstances where the technology is medically contraindicated or not more effective than alternative measures used by the employer to prevent exposure incidents. The Division of Occupational Safety and Health and the State Department of Health Services shall jointly compile and maintain a list of existing needleless systems and needles with engineered sharps injury protection, which shall be available to assist employers in complying with the requirements of the bloodborne pathogen standard adopted pursuant to this section. The list may be developed from existing sources of information, including, but not limited to, the federal Food and Drug Administration, the federal Centers for Disease Control, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, and the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. Notwithstanding Section 17580 of the Government Code, unless otherwise specified, the provisions of this act shall become operative on the same date that the act takes effect pursuant to the California Constitution.