BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE Senator Carol Liu, Chair BILL NO: AB 2066 A AUTHOR: Monning B VERSION: June 14, 2012 HEARING DATE: June 26, 2012 2 FISCAL: Yes 0 6 CONSULTANT: Sara Rogers 6 SUBJECT Residential care facilities for the elderly: revocation of license SUMMARY Revises procedures used by the Department of Social Services when revoking a license for a Residential Care Facility for the Elderly (RCFE). Specifies notice that must be provided to residents prior to eviction due to a revocation of license. Permits a licensee who is subject to a license revocation to arrange for a third part facility manager in order to avoid closure of the facility. Establishes a refund schedule for preadmission fees paid by residents of an RCFE that is subject to closure due to a revocation of license. ABSTRACT Current law 1.Provides for the inspection and licensure of residential care facilities for the elderly (RCFE) by the Department of Social Services (DSS) pursuant to the California Continued--- STAFF ANALYSIS OF ASSEMBLY BILL 2066 (Monning) Page 2 Residential Facilities for the Elderly Act and provides for the certification of administrators of RCFEs by DSS. 2.Permits DSS to enforce the Act by levying specified civil penalties, excluding certain individuals from employment in the facility, temporarily suspending a license or revoking a license, as specified. 3.Requires proceedings for the suspension, revocation, or denial of a license to be conducted (GC 11500). 4.Requires a licensed residential care facility for the elderly to provide written notice to a resident, a resident's responsible party, and the local long term care ombudsman within 10 days if DSS commences proceedings to suspend or revoke the license of the facility or a criminal action related to the health and safety of residents is brought forward against a facility (HSC 1569.38). 5.Requires the licensee, in the event of forfeiture or revocation of license, to take all reasonable steps to transfer affected residents safely and to minimize possible transfer trauma including providing a written eviction notice at least 60 days in advance of the eviction date and preparing a relocation evaluation that includes specified information. 6.Requires DSS, when temporarily suspending a license, to make every effort to minimize trauma for residents, to contact any local agency that may have placement or advocacy responsibility for residents, and to use medical personnel deemed appropriate to provide onsite evaluations of the residents and to assist in the transfer. This bill 1.Requires DSS, when revoking a license, to follow the STAFF ANALYSIS OF ASSEMBLY BILL 2066 (Monning) Page 3 procedures that are followed when temporarily suspending a license. 2.Requires the licensee, upon an order to revoke a license, to provide a 60 day written notice to the resident and the resident's responsible person within 24 hours of receipt of the revocation order from DSS. 3.Requires DSS to permit the licensee to secure the services of a person who is not an immediate family member or of an entity that is not owned by the licensee to manage the day to day operations of the RCFE for at least 60 days, if a proposal is submitted to DSS within 72 hours of the licensee's receipt of a revocation order. 4.Provides that the person or entity assuming responsibility must be currently licensed and in substantial compliance to operate an RCFE that is of comparable size and has comparable programming capacity, as defined, and that the proposal includes all of the following; A completed application for a facility license, as specified. A copy of the executed agreement between the licensee and the person or entity assuming responsibility that delineates the roles and responsibly of each party and specifies that the person or entity assuming responsibility shall have the full authority necessary to operate the facility without interference from the licensee. 1.Provides that the person or entity assuming responsibility is not subject to the application fee and that if DSS denies the application, the denial shall not be deemed a denial of licensure application subject to an administrative law hearing or other procedural rights. 2.Provides that, within 15 days of issuing the notice of STAFF ANALYSIS OF ASSEMBLY BILL 2066 (Monning) Page 4 closure, residents who transfer during the 60 day period are entitled to a refund or partial refund of preadmission fees in excess of $500, as in accordance with the following schedule: A 100% refund if fees were paid within six months of the notice of closure. A 75% refund if fees were paid within 6-12 months of the notice of closure. A 50% refund if fees were paid within 12-18 months of the notice of closure. A 25% refund if fees were paid within 18-25 months of the notice of closure. No refund if fees were paid 25 months or more prior to the notice of closure. 1.Requires the licensee to refund a proportional per diem amount of any prepaid monthly fees to residents who transfer during the 60 day period. 2.Requires the licensee that had his or her license revoked, within 10 days after all residents who are transferring have left the facility, to submit a final list of names and new locations of all residents to DSS and the local ombudsman program. 3.Allows DSS to amend the effective date of the order of revocation and close the facility prior to the 60 day notice period, or to pursue any other available remedies, if necessary to protect the health and safety of the residents in care. 4.Removes "revocation of a license" from statutory notice requirements that currently apply to forfeiture or revocation of a license, such that those notice requirements will only apply to forfeiture of license and the above provisions will apply to revocation of a license. FISCAL IMPACT STAFF ANALYSIS OF ASSEMBLY BILL 2066 (Monning) Page 5 The Assembly Appropriations Committee finds that costs associated with this legislation would be minor and absorbable within existing resources. BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly (RCFEs) are licensed housing facilities serving residents aged 60 and older, which provide a non-medical, homelike environment for residents who have a broad variety of care needs. RCFEs with six or fewer beds are frequently referred to as "board and care homes" or "senior care homes," while RCFEs with more than six beds and in some instances several hundred beds are generally referred to as "assisted living facilities". Regardless of capacity size, all RCFEs are licensed by DSS in accordance with the California Residential Facilities for the Elderly Act. DSS reports that, as of June 2012, there were 7,667 licensed RCFEs in the state with a total capacity of 171,939 residents, approximately 80% of which are licensed for six or fewer residents. According to the author, AB 2066 addresses an unintended consequence of AB 313 (Monning, Chapter 365, Statutes of 2011), which added "revocation of a license" to statute that required licensees to provide a 60-day notice prior to evicting a resident due to voluntary forfeiture of a license. The author states that, subsequent to passage of AB 313, DSS raised concerns that the law precluded the department from closing a facility prior to the end of the 60-day notice period even when necessary to protect the health and safety of the residents in care. This bill deletes the provision that was added under AB 313 and inserts a new notice requirement requiring a licensee to provide a 60-day eviction notice no more than 24 hours after receipt of a revocation order from DSS, but permits DSS to close the facility before the 60-days has elapsed, when necessary to protect the health and safety of the residents in care. Additionally, the author states that a licensee may no STAFF ANALYSIS OF ASSEMBLY BILL 2066 (Monning) Page 6 longer be willing or able to meet the needs of the residents for the next 60 days and cites an increased risk that care staff will begin leaving the RCFE for other employment once license revocation is announced. This bill permits a licensee who is subject to a revocation order to locate a qualified third- party manager to administer the day-to-day operations of the facility during the closure period. AB 313 was introduced in 2011 following the license revocation of Chanticleer Residential Care Facility in the County of Santa Cruz, a 48-bed RCFE, which provided only two weeks' notice to residents prior to closure of the facility even though DSS had begun legal action against the facility several weeks prior to the final revocation order. Related Legislation AB 313 (Monning, Chapter 365, Statutes of 2011) Requires each RCFE to provide residents, their responsible party, and the local long-term care ombudsman with a written notice when the DSS commences proceedings to suspend or revoke its license, or a criminal action relating to health or safety of the residents is brought against the facility, and makes other changes related to these actions. AB 419 (Mitchell, 2011) Requires every community care facility licensed by DSS to be inspected unannounced at least once per year using research based, field tested inspection protocols, as specified. This bill died in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. SB 897 (Leno, Chapter 376, Statutes of 2011) Requires licensed residential care facilities for the elderly (RCFEs) to notify the California Department of Social Services (DSS), the state's Long-Term Care Ombudsman and the facility's residents when the property is subject to foreclosure or certain other events occur due to financial distress. PRIOR VOTES STAFF ANALYSIS OF ASSEMBLY BILL 2066 (Monning) Page 7 Assembly Floor: 70 - 0 Assembly Appropriations: 17 - 0 Assembly Aging and LTC: 6 - 0 Assembly Human Services: 6 - 0 POSITIONS Support: Aging Services of California Association of Regional Center Agencies California Assisted Living Association California Commission of Aging Joseph Rodrigues, State Long Term Care Ombudsman Oppose: None received -- END --