J  O  I  N  T     R  E  S  O  L  U  T  I  O  N

CREATING A SPECIAL LEGISLATIVE COMMISSION TO STUDY ALL ASPECTS OF NEEDLE, SYRINGE, AND LANCET DISPOSAL PROCEDURES

RESOLVED, That a special legislative commission be and the same is hereby created consisting of twenty-three (23) members; three (3) of whom shall be from the House of Representatives, not more than two (2) from the same political party, to be appointed by the Speaker; three (3) of whom shall be from the Senate, not more than two (2) from the same political party, to be appointed by the Senate Majority Leader; one (1) of whom shall be the director of the Diabetes Foundation of Rhode Island , or designee; one (1) of whom shall be a current member of the Board of Directors of the Diabetes Foundation of Rhode Island, to be appointed by the board chairman; one (1) of whom shall be the Administrator of the Diabetes Control Program at the Department of Health, or designee; one (1) of whom shall be an environmental specialist at the Department of Health Environmental Risk Assessment to be appointed by the director; one (1) of whom shall be an environmental scientist at the Department of Environmental Management, to be appointed by the director; one (1) of whom shall be a representative of the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation, to be appointed by the director; one (1) of whom shall be a representative of Stericycle, to be appointed by the chief executive officer; one (1) of whom shall be a pharmacist, to be appointed by the Speaker; two (2) of whom shall be employees of a pharmacy, to be appointed by the Speaker; one (1) of whom shall be a representative of a pharmaceutical company manufacturing and distributing syringes, to be appointed by the Senate Majority Leader; one (1) of whom shall be associated with the Needle Exchange Program, to be appointed by the Senate Majority Leader; one (1) of whom shall be a representative of the Rhode Island Medical Society, to be appointed by the society's president; one (1) of whom shall be the state veterinarian; one (1) of whom shall be a representative of a waste disposal company, to be appointed by the Speaker; one (1) of whom shall be the Secretary of State, or designee; and one (1) of whom shall be the Director of Operations of the Sharp Smart Residential Needle Disposal Program.

In lieu of any appointment of a member of the legislature to a permanent advisory commission, a legislative study commission, or any commission created by a general assembly resolution, the appointing authority may appoint a member of the general public to serve in lieu of a legislator, provided that the Majority Leader or the Minority Leader of the political party which is entitled to the appointment consents to the appointment of the member of the general public.

The purpose of said commission shall be to study all aspects of needle, syringe and lancet disposal in the State of Rhode Island.

Forthwith upon passage of this resolution, the members of the commission shall meet at the call of the Speaker and organize and shall select from among the legislators a chairperson. Vacancies in said commission shall be filled in like manner as the original appointment.

The membership of said commission shall receive no compensation for their services.

All departments and agencies of the state shall furnish such advice and information, documentary and otherwise, to said commission and its agents as is deemed necessary or desirable by the commission to facilitate the purposes of this resolution.

The Speaker of the house is hereby authorized and directed to provide suitable quarters for said commission; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the commission shall report its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly on or before January 1, 2002 and said commission shall expire on March 1, 2002.