Bill > A2974

Introduced Session

This bill would require the Department of Health, in consultation with the Department of Environmental Protection, to establish a voluntary registration program for trauma scene waste management service providers. Any registration issued under the program will be valid for one year, and may be renewed on an annual basis. In order to be registered by the department, the owner or principal representative of the provider organization will be required to hold and maintain certification from the American Bio Recovery Association (ABRA), which is the international nonprofit association that establishes technical, ethical, and educational guidelines for the biohazard remediation industry. In addition, the provider organization will be required to: 1) pay an initial registration fee of $100 and an annual registration renewal fee of $100; 2) register with the Department of Environmental Protection as a medical waste generator; 3) provide a written statement certifying that the provider's staff is familiar with the ANSI/IICRC S540 Standard for Trauma and Crime Scene Cleanup; and 4) comply with any other requirements established by the department. Applications for registration are to be submitted in a form and manner prescribed by the commissioner. The bill would additionally require the Commissioner of Health to establish and maintain an electronic database, to be known as the Trauma Scene Waste Management Registry, which will identify and provide contact information for each of the commercial entities that are registered pursuant to the bill's provisions. Data on the registry is to be searchable by county and by provider name. The department will be required to make the registry available for public review on the department's Internet website, and update the registry on a regular basis in order to ensure that it provides accurate and up-to-date information. The bill would also require the website of the Department of Environmental Protection to include a hyperlink to the Trauma Scene Waste Management Registry. Upon the publication of the Trauma Scene Waste Management Registry, the Department of Health will be required to notify all law enforcement agencies, fire departments, and emergency medical services providers in the State about the availability of the registry. Following the receipt of this notice, each law enforcement agency, fire department, or emergency medical services provider, and any paid or unpaid employee thereof, will be prohibited from providing referrals to, or distributing information about, a trauma scene waste management services provider that is not identified on the registry. While the State has already implemented a comprehensive statutory and regulatory framework that governs the generation, handling, transport, and disposal of regulated medical waste, there is a gap in the State's regulatory system in this regard, in that there are no provisions that regulate the clean-up and remediation of medical waste or infectious materials from biohazardous trauma scenes. By effectively preventing unregistered trauma scene waste management service providers from receiving service referrals, this bill is designed to encourage such providers to voluntarily apply for registration and obtain the non-profit certification and familiarity with accepted clean-up standards that will better ensure the safety of trauma scene clean-up operations undertaken in the State.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Erik Peterson (R)*, 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Health Committee (on 01/13/2026)

Official Document