BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  SB 345
                                                                  Page  1

          SENATE THIRD READING
          SB 345 (Wolk)
          As Amended  August 21, 2012
          Majority vote

           SENATE VOTE  :   26-9
            
           AGING               6-0         APPROPRIATIONS      17-0        
           
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          |Ayes:|Yamada, Halderman, Pan,   |Ayes:|Fuentes, Harkey,          |
          |     |V. Manuel Pérez, Torres,  |     |Blumenfield, Bradford,    |
          |     |Wagner                    |     |Charles Calderon, Campos, |
          |     |                          |     |Davis, Donnelly, Gatto,   |
          |     |                          |     |Hall, Hill, Lara,         |
          |     |                          |     |Mitchell, Nielsen, Norby, |
          |     |                          |     |Solorio, Wagner           |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 

          SUMMARY  :  Conforms various provisions of the codes authorizing 
          the Office of State Long-Term Care Ombudsman (OSLTCO) to federal 
          statutes.  Specifically,  this bill  :   

          1)Adds legislative findings and declarations and conforms 
            existing codes with regard to the OSLTCO and the State 
            Long-Term Care Ombudsman's (SLTCO) roles and responsibilities, 
            to federal law. 

          2)Establishes recruitment guidelines when the position of SLTCO 
            becomes vacant to assure the SLTCO has experience and 
            expertise in the fields of long-term care and advocacy. 

          3)Requires, rather than authorizes, the OSLTCO to hire legal 
            representation in the event the Attorney General is 
            unavailable, for litigation related to the affairs of the 
            office.

          4)Shifts from the California Department of Aging (CDA) to the 
            OSLTCO, responsibility for the development of a statewide 
            uniform reporting system to collect and analyze data relative 
            to complaints and conditions in long-term care facilities.

          5)Requires the SLTCO to report to the Legislature and local 
            long-term care ombudsman programs annually on prospective 
            advocacy plans.   








                                                                  SB 345
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          6)Requires the OSLTCO to maintain a Web site within the CDA's 
            Web site, and that the Web site be consumer driven and include 
            various long-term care related information, and requires the 
            OSLTCO to staff the 24-hour, long-term care ombudsman hotline.

          7)Requires the CDA and other departments and programs involved 
            in regulating, monitoring, or serving long-term care facility 
            residents to cooperate with the OSLTCO to address concerns and 
            questions about care, quality of life, safety of long-term 
            care facility residents.

          8)Allows the OSLTC to advise the public of long-term care 
            facility inspection reports, deficiencies, and plans of 
            correction; promote visitation programs, establish and assist 
            in the development of resident, family, and friends' councils, 
            and present community education programs.


           EXISTING LAW  :

          1)Establishes the Long-Term Care Ombudsman program as a result 
            of the federal Older Americans Act (OAA) and places it within 
            the CDA in order to encourage community contact and 
            involvement with elderly patients or residents of long-term 
            care facilities or residential facilities through the use of 
            volunteers and volunteer programs.  Federal law generally 
            prohibits ombudsman from making a disclosure of personal 
            information pertaining to an ombudsman program client, unless 
            the client provides written consent.

          2)Allocates funds to local ombudsman programs to assist elderly 
            persons in long-term health care facilities and residential 
            care facilities by, among other things, investigating and 
            seeking to resolve complaints against these facilities.

          3)Provides for the appointment of a SLTCO by the Governor, and 
            specifies requirements of the person filling that position.

          4)Requires the CDA to establish an 11-member advisory council 
            for the SLTCO to provide advice and consultation on issues 
            affecting the provision of ombudsman services.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to the Assembly Appropriations 
          Committee:








                                                                  SB 345
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          1)Minor costs, not likely to exceed $50,000 annually, may be 
            incurred by the OSLTCO to comply with certain new requirements 
            of this bill that are not required by federal law, including 
            maintenance of an Internet Web site, preparation of an annual 
            advocacy report, requirement to hire outside counsel in the 
            case of a conflict of interest generated by representation by 
            the Attorney General, and reconstitution of an advisory 
            council.  These costs are expected to be absorbable within 
            existing federal fund resources.  

          2)The SLTCO indicates many other listed duties that conform to 
            federal law are currently being performed by the office and 
            will not result in increased costs.

           COMMENTS  :  The primary responsibility of the program is to 
          investigate and endeavor to resolve complaints made by, or on 
          behalf of, individual residents in long-term care facilities.  
          There are about 1,000 volunteers providing about 150,000 hours 
          of unpaid advocacy and support to long-term care residents.   
          This bill is intended to, among other things; insulate the 
          OSLTCO from other state department's interference, and to assure 
          future appointees to the position of SLTCO have qualifications 
          consistent with the demands of the office.


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Robert MacLaughlin / AGING & L.T.C. / 
          (916) 319-3990


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