BILL NUMBER: SB 1029	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Yee

                        FEBRUARY 12, 2010

   An act to amend Sections 4145 and 4148 of, and to repeal Section
4140 of, the Business and Professions Code, and to amend Section
11364 of, to add Section 121281 to, and to repeal Chapter 13.5
(commencing with Section 121285) of Part 4 of Division 105 of, the
Health and Safety Code, relating to public health.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1029, as introduced, Yee. Hypodermic needles and syringes.
   Existing law regulates the sale, possession, and disposal of
hypodermic needles and syringes, and requires, with certain
exceptions, a prescription to purchase a hypodermic needle or syringe
for human use. Existing law prohibits any person from possessing or
having under his control any hypodermic needle or syringe, except in
accordance with those regulatory provisions.
   Existing law, which terminates December 31, 2010, authorizes a
county or city to authorize a licensed pharmacist to sell or furnish
10 or fewer hypodermic needles or syringes to a person for human use
without a prescription if the pharmacy is registered with a local
health department in the Disease Prevention Demonstration Project,
established by law to evaluate the long-term desirability of allowing
licensed pharmacies to sell or furnish nonprescription hypodermic
needles or syringes to prevent the spread of bloodborne pathogens,
including HIV and hepatitis C.
   This bill would delete the prohibition against any person
possessing or having under his control any hypodermic needle or
syringe, would delete the requirement of authorization by a county or
city, would delete the December 31, 2010, end date, would recast
related provisions to permit a physician, pharmacist, or pharmacist
technician to provide, and a person to obtain, 30 or fewer hypodermic
needles and syringes for human use without a prescription or
license, and would make conforming changes, including the elimination
of the Disease Prevention Demonstration Project.
   This bill would require the state Office of AIDS to develop and
maintain information on its Internet Web site to educate consumers at
risk of bloodborne infections of opportunities to improve and
protect the consumer's health, and to protect the public health and
would also require the California State Board of Pharmacy to post, or
post a link to, this information on its Internet Web site.
   The pharmacy Law requires a pharmacist to keep detailed records of
nonprescription sales of hypodermic needles and syringes. Existing
law makes it a crime to knowingly violate any provision relating to
the Pharmacy Law.
   This bill would amend the Pharmacy Law to require pharmacies that
furnish nonprescription hypodermic needles and syringes to store the
hypodermic needles and syringes in a manner that ensures that they
are not accessible to unauthorized persons, and would require
pharmacies to provide consumers with prescribed options for consumer
disposal of hypodermic needles and syringes. By changing the
definition of an existing crime, this bill would impose 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.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  It is the intent of the Legislature to improve access
to syringes and hypodermic needles so as to remove significant
barriers for persons seeking to protect their health and the health
of other persons, and to remove barriers for programs or businesses
to provide sterile injection equipment and education to adults,
thereby reducing the spread of communicable diseases and protecting
the public health.
  SEC. 2.  Section 4140 of the Business and Professions Code is
repealed. 
   4140.  No person shall possess or have under his or her control
any hypodermic needle or syringe except when acquired in accordance
with this article. 
  SEC. 3.  Section 4145 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
   4145.  (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a
pharmacist or physician may, without a prescription or a permit,
furnish hypodermic needles and syringes for human use, and a person
may, without a prescription or license, obtain hypodermic needles and
syringes from a pharmacist or physician for human use, if 
one of the following requirements is met:   the person
is known to the furnisher and the furnisher has previously been
provided a prescription or other proof of a legitimate medical need
requiring a hypodermic needle or syringe to administer a medicine or
treatment.  
   (1) The person is known to the furnisher and the furnisher has
previously been provided a prescription or other proof of a
legitimate medical need requiring a hypodermic needle or syringe to
administer a medicine or treatment.  
   (2) Pursuant to authorization by a county, with respect to all of
the territory within the county, or a city, with respect to the
territory within the city, for the period commencing January 1, 2005,
and ending December 31, 2010, a pharmacist may furnish or sell 10 or
fewer hypodermic needles or syringes at any one time to a person 18
years of age or older if the pharmacist works for a pharmacy that is
registered for the Disease Prevention Demonstration Project pursuant
to Chapter 13.5 (commencing with Section 121285) of Part 4 of
Division 105 of the Health and Safety Code and the pharmacy complies
with the provisions of that chapter.  
   (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, as a public health
measure intended to prevent the transmission of HIV, viral
hepatitis, and other bloodborne diseases among persons who use
syringes and hypodermic needles, and to prevent subsequent infection
of sexual partners, newborn children, or other persons, a physician,
pharmacist, or pharmacist technician may, without a prescription or a
permit, furnish hypodermic needles and syringes for human use, and a
person may, without a prescription or license, obtain hypodermic
needles and syringes for human use from a physician, pharmacist, or
pharmacist technician.  
   (b) 
    (c)  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a
pharmacist, veterinarian, or person licensed pursuant to Section 4141
may, without a prescription or license, furnish hypodermic needles
and syringes for use on animals, and a person may, without a
prescription or license, obtain hypodermic needles and syringes from
a pharmacist, veterinarian, or person licensed pursuant to Section
4141 for use on animals, providing that no needle or syringe shall be
furnished to a person who is unknown to the furnisher and unable to
properly establish his or her identity. 
   (d) Pharmacies shall store hypodermic needles and syringes in a
manner that ensures that they are available only to authorized
personnel, and are not accessible to other persons.  
   (e) In order to provide for the safe disposal of hypodermic
needles and syringes, pharmacies that furnish nonprescription
hypodermic needles and syringes shall provide consumers with one or
more of the following disposal options:  
   (1) It shall establish an onsite, safe, hypodermic needle and
syringe collection and disposal program.  
   (2) It shall furnish, or make available, mail-back sharps disposal
containers authorized by the United States Postal Service that meet
applicable state and federal requirements, and shall provide tracking
forms to verify destruction at a certified disposal facility. 

   (3) It shall furnish, or make available, a personal medical sharps
disposal container that meets applicable state and federal standards
for disposal of medical sharps waste. 
  SEC. 4.  Section 4148 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
   4148.  All stocks of hypodermic needles or syringes shall be
confiscated if found outside the licensed premises of any person
holding a permit under Section 4141 and found not in the possession
or under the control of a person entitled to an exemption under
Section 4143, 4144, or 4145  , or under Section 11364, 121349, or
121349.1 of the Health and Safety Code  .
  SEC. 5.  Section 11364 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to
read:
   11364.  (a) It is unlawful to possess an opium pipe or any device,
contrivance, instrument, or paraphernalia used for unlawfully
injecting or smoking (1) a controlled substance specified in
subdivision (b), (c), or (e), or paragraph (1) of subdivision (f) of
Section 11054, specified in paragraph (14), (15), or (20) of
subdivision (d) of Section 11054, specified in subdivision (b) or (c)
of Section 11055, or specified in paragraph (2) of subdivision (d)
of Section 11055, or (2) a controlled substance which is a narcotic
drug classified in Schedule III, IV, or V.
   (b) This section shall not apply to hypodermic needles or syringes
that have been containerized for safe disposal in a container that
meets state and federal standards for disposal of sharps waste.
   (c)  Pursuant to authorization by a county, with respect
to all of the territory within the county, or a city, with respect to
the territory within in the city, for the period commencing January
1, 2005, and ending December 31, 2010, subdivision (a)  
As a public health measure intended to prevent the transmission of
HIV, viral hepatitis, and other bloodborne diseases among persons who
use syringes and hypodermic needles, and to prevent subsequent
infection of sexual partners, newborn children, or other persons,
this section  shall not apply to the possession solely for
personal use of  10   30  or fewer
hypodermic needles or syringes if acquired from  an
authorized source   a physician, pharmacist, pharmacist
technician,   hypodermic needle and   syringe
exchange program, or any other source that is authorized by law to
provide sterile syringes or hypodermic needles without a prescription
 .
  SEC. 6.  Section 121281 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to
read:
   121281.  In order to assist pharmacists and pharmacy personnel in
the education of consumers who are at risk of bloodborne infections
regarding methods and opportunities for improving and protecting the
consumer's health, and thereby protect the public health, the Office
of AIDS shall develop and maintain all of the following information,
on its Internet Web site, and the California State Board of Pharmacy
shall also post, or maintain a link to, the information on its
Internet Web site:
   (a) How consumers can access testing and treatment for HIV and
viral hepatitis.
   (b) How consumers can safely dispose of syringes and hypodermic
needles or other sharps waste.
   (c) How consumers can access drug treatment.
  SEC. 7.  Chapter 13.5 (commencing with Section 121285) of Part 4 of
Division 105 of the Health and Safety Code is repealed.
  SEC. 8.  No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.