BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                       



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                              UNFINISHED BUSINESS


          Bill No:  SB 608
          Author:   Alquist (D), et al
          Amended:  8/24/10
          Vote:     21

           
           PRIOR VOTES NOT RELEVANT
           
           SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE  :  8-0, 8/31/10
          AYES:  Alquist, Strickland, Aanestad, Cedillo, Leno,  
            Negrete McLeod, Pavley, Romero
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Vacancy

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  : 72-1, 08/30/10 - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Hospitals:  seismic safety

           SOURCE  :     Author


           DIGEST  :    This bill permits the Office of Statewide Health  
          Planning and Development to grant two separate extensions  
          to a general acute care hospital for a total of five years,  
          under specified circumstances related to local planning  
          delays, for compliance with existing state seismic safety  
          requirements.

           Assembly Amendments  delete the version of the bill that  
          passed the Senate an now address the subject of hospitals  
          and seismic safety.

           ANALYSIS  :    
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           Existing law  :

          1. Establishes and grants the Office of Statewide Health  
             Planning and Development (OSHPD) authority and  
             responsibility for reviewing and approving all plans  
             relating to construction, additions to, reconstruction,  
             or alteration of, health care facilities, as defined.   
             Before adopting any such plans, requires hospitals to  
             submit the plans to OSHPD for approval and to pay an  
             application filing fee, as determined by OSHPD, based on  
             the project's estimated construction cost.

          2. Establishes the Alfred E. Alquist Hospital Facilities  
             Seismic Safety Act of 1983 (Alquist Act), and its  
             amendments, with the following deadlines for seismic  
             safety compliance:

             A.    After January 1, 2008, requires any general acute  
                care (GAC) hospital building that is determined to be  
                a potential risk for collapse or significant loss of  
                life in a major earthquake (i.e., designated as  
                SPC-1) to be used only for non-acute care purposes.

             B.    Authorizes OSHPD to extend the 2008 deadline by  
                five years, to January 1, 2013, if:

                (1)      The hospital demonstrates that  
                   compliance with the 2008 deadline will result  
                   in a loss of health care capacity that may not  
                   be provided by other GAC hospitals within a  
                   reasonable proximity, and other conditions are  
                   met.

                (2)      The hospital agrees that by January 1,  
                   2013, designated services will be provided by  
                   moving into an existing conforming building,  
                   relocating to a newly-built building, or  
                   continuing in the retrofitted building, as  
                   specified.

                (3)      The building is either retrofitted to  
                   SPC-2 and NPC-3 standards, or not used for GAC  
                   inpatient services, by January 1, 2013.

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             C.    Authorizes OSHPD to extend the 2013 deadline by up  
                to two additional years, up to January 1, 2015, if  
                the hospital meets specified interim deadlines and is  
                making reasonable progress toward meeting its  
                timeline to retrofit or replace an SPC-1 building but  
                is delayed due to factors beyond its control.

             D.    Permits a hospital owner, in lieu of retrofitting  
                or rebuilding SPC-1 buildings by 2013, to instead  
                replace them by January 1, 2020, if:

                (1)      The hospital meets specified conditions,  
                   including serving Medi-Cal or indigent  
                   patients and underserved areas, and OSHPD  
                   certifies that the hospital owner lacks the  
                   financial capacity to meet seismic standards,  
                   as defined.

                (2)      The nonconforming building is owned or  
                   operated by a county, city, or county and city  
                   that lacks the ability to meet the 2013  
                   deadline but commits to replace the buildings  
                   by January 1, 2020.

             E.    Requires, by January 1, 2030, all hospital  
                buildings to be capable of remaining intact after an  
                earthquake, and capable of continued operation and  
                provision of acute care medical services (designated  
                as SPC-5), and requires owners of all acute care  
                inpatient hospitals to demolish, replace, or change  
                to non-acute care all hospital buildings not in  
                substantial compliance.

          3. Requires an owner of a GAC hospital building classified  
             as SPC-1, who has not requested an extension of the 2008  
             deadline, to submit a report to OSHPD no later than  
             April 15, 2007, describing the status of each building  
             in complying with the deadline, and to identify the  
             following:

             A.    Each building that is subject to the deadline.

             B.    The project number or numbers for retrofit or  

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                replacement of each building.

             C.    The projected construction start date or dates and  
                projected construction completion date or dates.

             D.    The building or buildings to be removed from acute  
                care service and the projected date or dates of this  
                action.

          4. Requires owners of SPC-1 hospital buildings who have  
             requested an extension of the 2008 deadline to submit  
             similar reports by June 30, 2009, and November 1, 2010.

          5. Requires OSHPD to make the information reported pursuant  
             to 3) and 4) above available on its Web site within 90  
             days of receipt.

          This bill:

          1. Permits OSHPD, in lieu of the extension to the January  
             1, 2008, seismic deadline, as specified, to grant an  
             extension to a GAC, in accordance with #3) and #6)  
             below, if the GAC building will not be able to meet the  
             existing seismic safety standards, as specified, by  
             January 1, 2013, due to a local planning delay. 

          2. Requires the owner of the GAC, when applying for an  
             extension, to submit to OSHPD documentation that  
             includes at least all of the following:

             A.    The original schedule of the project or projects  
                as had been originally anticipated.

             B.    The schedule of the project or projects as  
                currently projected.

             C.    A timeline for the submission of documents to the  
                local planning authority or jurisdiction.

             D.    Documentation that the local planning authority  
                for the project and for the enabling phases of the  
                project does not grant approvals prior to November 1,  
                2010, where the GAC had originally filed the local  
                application prior to January 1, 2008.

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             E.    A proposed construction timeframe demonstrating  
                the completion of the project once the permit is  
                issued.  Requires the construction timeframe to be  
                approved by OSHPD and to only include the amount of  
                time that is reasonably necessary to complete the  
                construction required to meet the seismic  
                requirements.

          3. Permits OSHPD to grant an extension, in full one-year  
             increments, but no longer than three consecutive years,  
             which compensates for delays determined pursuant to #4)  
             below.

          4. Requires OSHPD to conduct a comprehensive review of the  
             schedule for the project or projects according to  
             criteria specified in this bill.  Requires this review  
             to encompass the project or projects under jurisdiction  
             of OSHPD, as well as other project phases not under the  
             jurisdiction of OSHPD.  Requires OSHPD to consider the  
             cumulative effect of local approval timelines for all  
             elements of the project or projects, inclusive of  
             changes in scope or sequence of the project or projects  
             required by the local planning process.  Permits OSHPD  
             to grant extensions based on evaluation of each of the  
             following circumstances:

             A.    Where the local planning authority approvals have  
                delayed or will delay the construction start date of  
                the project or projects.

             B.    Where the local conditions of approval on a  
                project or projects extend the duration beyond the  
                originally anticipated construction completion date.

             C.    Where the cumulative effect of delays on the  
                project or projects create additional construction  
                delays due to local seasonal weather impact  
                requirements of the local planning authority.

             D.    Construction related to the seismic retrofit or  
                replacement project has begun by January 1, 2013.

             E.    The project or projects were submitted for review  

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                by DPH no later than January 1, 2009.

             F.    The project or projects have received a building  
                permit from DPH no later than January 1, 2012.

          5. Requires the GAC owner, every six months after the  
             approval of the extension, to report to OSHPD on the  
             status of the project, demonstrating that it is making  
             reasonable progress toward meeting the construction  
             timeline.  

          6. Permits OSHPD to grant an additional extension of up to  
             two years in addition to the extension granted pursuant  
             to #3) and #4) above, if and only if, the projects meet  
             all of the following criteria:

             A.    A matrix of buildings at the facility that  
                identifies compliance of each building to the  
                standards required in existing law at the completion  
                of the project.

             B.    The construction timelines submitted pursuant to  
                #1) above were determined to go beyond three years  
                from the date the building permit was issued.

             C.    Acute care services will not be provided in any  
                structural performance category (SPC)-1 building at  
                any time during the extension.

             D.    The GAC demonstrates that it has, and maintains  
                throughout the extension, life safety systems in all  
                acute care patient care areas that do not depend on,  
                and are not routed through, an SPC-1 building.

             E.    The GAC either demonstrates that the SPC-1  
                building does not pose a structural risk to an  
                adjoining hospital building that is used for acute  
                care services or mitigates the risk in accordance  
                with a deadline described in the January 1, 2008  
                seismic deadline, as specified, that OSHPD determines  
                will best protect patients' safety.

          7. Permits OSHPD to revoke an extension for any GAC  
             building where the work of construction is abandoned or  

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             suspended for a period of at least six months, unless  
             the GAC demonstrates in a public document that the  
             abandonment or suspension was caused by factors beyond  
             its control.

          8. Permits OSHPD to revoke an extension granted if it is  
             determined that any information submitted was falsified  
             in any manner by the GAC or if the GAC fails to meet any  
             criteria or conditions, as specified.

          9. Requires regulatory submissions made by OSHPD to the  
             California Building Standards Commission pursuant to  
             provisions in this bill to be deemed and to be adopted  
             as emergency regulations.

          10.Requires the GAC owner that applies for an extension to  
             pay to OSHPD an additional fee, to be determined by  
             OSHPD, sufficient to cover the additional cost incurred  
             by OSHPD for maintaining all reporting requirements  
             established pursuant to the provision of this bill,  
             including, but not limited to, the costs of reviewing  
             and verifying the extension documentation submitted.   
             Prohibits the additional fee from including any cost for  
             review of the plans or other duties related to receiving  
             a building or occupancy permit. 

          11.Permits a GAC denied an extension to appeal the  
             assessment to the Hospital Building Safety Board.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  Yes   Fiscal Com.:  Yes    
          Local:  No

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  : 
          AYES: Adams, Anderson, Arambula, Bass, Beall, Bill  
            Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bradford,  
            Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter,  
            Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon,  
            DeVore, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes,  
            Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto,  
            Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill,  
            Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Knight, Logue, Bonnie  
            Lowenthal, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande,  
            Niello, Nielsen, Norby, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino,  
            Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio,  

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            Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torrico, Tran,  
            Villines, John A. Perez
          NOES: Ammiano
          NO VOTE RECORDED: Jones, Lieu, Ma, Torres, Yamada, Vacancy,  
            Vacancy


          CTW:do  8/31/10   Senate Floor Analyses 

                       SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  NONE RECEIVED

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