BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1217
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 15, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 1217 (Lowenthal) - As Amended: May 7, 2013
Policy Committee: Human
ServicesVote:4 - 2
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill establishes within the Department of Social Services a
new regulatory program to license and oversee home care services
agencies. In addition, this bill requires all home care aides
to receive certification from DSS within 90 days of being hired
by a home care services agency and requires the creation of an
online registry for home care workers.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Assuming that there are approximately 3,200 agencies that
employ 100,000 home care workers, DSS would be required to
license and investigate complaints for those new entities.
This would constitute almost a 5% increase in the number of
facilities licensed by DSS. Based on that increase, the
on-going cost for DSS' Community Care Licensing Division
(CCLD) would be approximately $5 million. The bill requires
that revenue from licensing and certification fees be
sufficient to cover the on-going cost of the program.
2)One-time costs of approximately $30 million for regulations,
forms, and information technology related to creating the new
licensing system, the initial inspections and licensing of all
3,200 agencies, and certifying close to 100,000 home care
workers and developing the required registry. In order for
these costs to be fully offset by licensing fees, each agency
would need to pay approximately $9,500 in a licensing
application fee.
3)GF costs to the Department of Justice of $251,000 for 2013-14,
$536,000 for 2014-15, and $132,000 for 2015-16 for workload
AB 1217
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associated with the background checks required of all home
care aids and home care organizations.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . Estimates suggest that there are over 100,000 home
care aids working in California. The agencies overseeing
these workers and the workers themselves are currently
unregulated by any state agency. This bill requires all home
care agencies to be licensed by DSS and, distinct from a
similar bill, AB 322 (Yamada), requires all home care aides,
whether they work for an agency or operate as an independent
contractor, to be certified - complete with a background
check, minimum training standards, and regular tuberculosis
screenings.
Twenty-three other states, including Florida, Illinois, New
York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington have similar
laws in place. The author asserts that AB 1217 ensures that
all consumers of home care services in California have access
to quality care from properly screened and trained caregivers,
whether they receive services through a public or private
entity.
Home care providers provide basic day-to-day non-medical
living assistance, such as cooking, cleaning, dressing,
feeding, and other regular daily needs. However, unlike their
In-Home Supportive Services and Home Health Agency
counterparts, there are no requirements in current law that
require home care aides to have minimum levels of training, to
undergo a criminal background check, or comply with basic
standards of service.
2)Related Legislation . Currently, 322 (Yamada), establishes the
Home Care Services Act of 2013 to provide for the licensure
and regulation of home care organization. That bill is
currently pending on this committee's Suspense File.
The primary differences between AB 322 and AB 1217 are that AB
1217 requires the home care aids themselves be certified and
creates a registry of those certified workers, while AB 322
only requires licensing of the agencies. In addition, AB 322
includes referral agencies that do not actually employ home
care workers in their licensing requirement, while AB 1217
excludes those agencies from licensing but requires the
AB 1217
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workers who are referred through those agencies be certified
and registered.
a) In 2011, SB 411 (Price), a substantially similar bill to
AB 1217, was vetoed. In his veto message, the governor
wrote, "Given the economic stresses and uncertainty, I am
not prepared to embark upon the institutional changes and
costs that this bill entails."
b) In 2011, AB 899 (Yamada), a substantially similar bill
to AB 322 was held on this committee's Suspense File.
c) In 2007, AB 853 (Jones), a substantially similar bill
was held on this committee's Suspense File.
Analysis Prepared by : Julie Salley-Gray / APPR. / (916)
319-2081