By Bernsen S.B. No. 905
76R4866 CMR-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the standards for occupational exposure of public
1-3 employees to bloodborne pathogens.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Chapter 81, Health and Safety Code, is amended by
1-6 adding Subchapter H to read as follows:
1-7 SUBCHAPTER H. BLOODBORNE PATHOGEN EXPOSURE CONTROL PLAN
1-8 Sec. 81.301. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
1-9 (1) "Bloodborne pathogens" means pathogenic
1-10 microorganisms that are present in human blood and that can cause
1-11 diseases in humans. The term includes hepatitis B virus, hepatitis
1-12 C virus, and human immunodeficiency virus.
1-13 (2) "Engineered sharps injury protection" means:
1-14 (A) a physical attribute that is built into a
1-15 needle device used for withdrawing body fluids, accessing a vein or
1-16 artery, or administering medications or other fluids, and that
1-17 effectively reduces the risk of an exposure incident by a
1-18 mechanism such as barrier creation, blunting, encapsulation,
1-19 withdrawal, retraction, destruction, or another effective
1-20 mechanism; or
1-21 (B) a physical attribute built into any other
1-22 type of needle device, or into a nonneedle sharp, that effectively
1-23 reduces the risk of an exposure incident.
1-24 (3) "Governmental unit" means:
2-1 (A) this state and any agency of the state,
2-2 including a department, bureau, board, commission, or office;
2-3 (B) a political subdivision of this state,
2-4 including any municipality, county, or special district; and
2-5 (C) any other institution of government,
2-6 including an institution of higher education.
2-7 (4) "Needleless system" means a device that does not
2-8 use a needle and that is used:
2-9 (A) to withdraw body fluids after initial venous
2-10 or arterial access is established;
2-11 (B) to administer medication or fluids; or
2-12 (C) for any other procedure involving the
2-13 potential for an exposure incident.
2-14 (5) "Sharp" means an object used or encountered in a
2-15 health care setting that can be reasonably anticipated to penetrate
2-16 the skin or any other part of the body and to result in an exposure
2-17 incident, including a needle device, a scalpel, a lancet, a piece
2-18 of broken glass, a broken capillary tube, an exposed end of a
2-19 dental wire, or a dental knife, drill, or bur.
2-20 (6) "Sharps injury" means any injury caused by a
2-21 sharp, including a cut, abrasion, needlestick, or human bite.
2-22 Sec. 81.302. APPLICABILITY OF SUBCHAPTER. This subchapter
2-23 applies only to a governmental unit that employs employees who:
2-24 (1) provide services in a public or private facility
2-25 providing health care-related services, including a home health
2-26 care organization; or
2-27 (2) otherwise have a risk of exposure to blood or
3-1 other material potentially containing bloodborne pathogens in
3-2 connection with exposure to sharps.
3-3 Sec. 81.303. EXPOSURE CONTROL PLAN. The department shall
3-4 establish an exposure control plan designed to minimize exposure of
3-5 employees described by Section 81.302 to bloodborne pathogens. In
3-6 developing the plan, the department must consider:
3-7 (1) policies relating to occupational exposure to
3-8 bloodborne pathogens;
3-9 (2) training and educational requirements for
3-10 employees;
3-11 (3) measures to increase vaccinations of employees;
3-12 and
3-13 (4) increased use of personal protective equipment by
3-14 employees.
3-15 Sec. 81.304. MINIMUM STANDARDS. The board by rule shall
3-16 adopt minimum standards to implement the exposure control plan and
3-17 the other provisions of this subchapter. The rules shall be at
3-18 least as stringent as the analogous standards adopted by the
3-19 federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Each
3-20 governmental unit shall comply with the minimum standards adopted
3-21 under this subchapter.
3-22 Sec. 81.305. NEEDLELESS SYSTEMS. (a) The board by rule
3-23 shall require that a governmental unit implement needleless
3-24 systems and sharps with engineered sharps injury protection for
3-25 employees.
3-26 (b) The requirements adopted under Subsection (a) do not
3-27 apply to the use of a needleless system or sharps with engineered
4-1 sharps injury protection in circumstances in which an evaluation
4-2 committee established that use of needleless systems and sharps
4-3 with engineered sharps protection will jeopardize patient or
4-4 employee safety with regard to a specific medical procedure. At
4-5 least half of the members of an evaluation committee established by
4-6 a governmental unit to implement this subsection must be employees
4-7 who are health care workers who have contact with patients or
4-8 provide services.
4-9 Sec. 81.306. SHARPS INJURY LOG. The board by rule shall
4-10 require that information concerning exposure incidents be recorded
4-11 in a written or electronic sharps injury log to be maintained by a
4-12 governmental unit. This information must include:
4-13 (1) the date and time of the exposure incident;
4-14 (2) the type and brand of sharp involved in the
4-15 exposure incident; and
4-16 (3) a description of the exposure incident, including:
4-17 (A) the job classification of the exposed
4-18 employee;
4-19 (B) the department or work area where the
4-20 exposure incident occurred;
4-21 (C) the procedure that the exposed employee was
4-22 performing at the time of the incident;
4-23 (D) how the incident occurred;
4-24 (E) the employee's body part that was involved
4-25 in the exposure incident;
4-26 (F) whether the sharp had engineered sharps
4-27 injury protection, and if so, whether the protective mechanism was
5-1 activated and whether the injury occurred before, during, or after
5-2 the activation of the protective mechanism;
5-3 (G) the employee's opinion, if the sharp did not
5-4 have engineered sharps injury protection, about whether such a
5-5 mechanism could have prevented the injury and the employee's reason
5-6 for the opinion; and
5-7 (H) the employee's opinion about whether any
5-8 other engineering, administrative, or work practice control could
5-9 have prevented the injury and the employee's reason for the
5-10 opinion.
5-11 Sec. 81.307. COMPILATION OF RESOURCES. (a) The department
5-12 shall compile and maintain a list of existing needleless systems
5-13 and sharps with engineered sharps injury protection that will be
5-14 available to assist governmental units to comply with this
5-15 subchapter.
5-16 (b) The sources used in developing the list may include:
5-17 (1) the federal Food and Drug Administration;
5-18 (2) the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of
5-19 the United States Department of Health and Human Services;
5-20 (3) the National Institute of Occupational Safety and
5-21 Health; and
5-22 (4) the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.
5-23 SECTION 2. (a) This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
5-24 (b) The Texas Board of Health shall adopt the exposure
5-25 control plan and the rules required by Subchapter H, Chapter 81,
5-26 Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act, not later than
5-27 February 1, 2000.
6-1 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the
6-2 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
6-3 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
6-4 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
6-5 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.