Taking Essential Steps for Testing Act of 2012

(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Taking Essential Steps for Testing Act of 2012 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to revise sanctions for laboratories that intentionally refer proficiency testing samples required for certification to another laboratory for analysis by: (1) giving the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) discretion to substitute intermediate sanctions for such violations instead of the two-year prohibition against ownership or operation which would otherwise apply, and (2) making the one-year certificate revocation for such a laboratory optional rather than mandatory.

[112th Congress Public Law 202]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



[[Page 126 STAT. 1483]]

Public Law 112-202
112th Congress

                                 An Act


 
 To amend section 353 of the Public Health Service Act with respect to 
          suspension, revocation, and limitation of laboratory 
          certification. <<NOTE: Dec. 4, 2012 -  [H.R. 6118]>> 

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, <<NOTE: Taking Essential 
Steps for Testing Act of 2012. 42 USC 201 note.>> 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Taking Essential Steps for Testing 
Act of 2012''.
SEC. 2. SUSPENSION, REVOCATION, AND LIMITATION OF LABORATORY 
                    CERTIFICATION.

    Section 353 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 263a) is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (d)(1)(E), by inserting ``, except that no 
        proficiency testing sample shall be referred to another 
        laboratory for analysis as prohibited under subsection (i)(4)'' 
        before the period at the end; and
            (2) in subsection (i)--
                    (A) in paragraph (3), by inserting before the period 
                at the end of the first sentence the following: ``, 
                except that if the revocation occurs pursuant to 
                paragraph (4) the Secretary may substitute intermediate 
                sanctions under subsection (h) instead of the 2-year 
                prohibition against ownership or operation which would 
                otherwise apply under this paragraph''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (4), by striking ``shall'' the 
                first place it appears and inserting ``may''.

    Approved December 4, 2012.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--H.R. 6118 (S. 3391):
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 158 (2012):
            Sept. 19, considered and passed House.
            Nov. 14, considered and passed Senate.

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