BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 563
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 563 (Galgiani)
As Amended August 5, 2013
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :34-0
HEALTH 18-0 APPROPRIATIONS 16-0
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|Ayes:|Pan, Ammiano, Atkins, |Ayes:|Gatto, Harkey, Bigelow, |
| |Bonilla, Bonta, Chesbro, | |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian |
| |Gomez, | |Calderon, Campos, Eggman, |
| |Roger Hernández, | |Gomez, Hall, Holden, |
| |Lowenthal, Maienschein, | |Linder, Pan, Quirk, |
| |Mansoor, Mitchell, | |Wagner, Weber |
| |Nazarian, Nestande, | | |
| |V. Manuel Pérez, Wagner, | | |
| |Wieckowski, Wilk | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Requires the person or entity requesting a copy of a
construction document maintained by the Office of State Health
Planning and Development (OSHPD) to bear the actual cost of
producing the copy of that document, including staff time spent
retrieving, inspecting, and handling the documents, as well as
copying and shipping costs. Requires OSHPD to provide the
requestor with an estimate of the cost prior to making the
copies.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, an estimated $230,000 annually would be collected
from persons requesting copies and deposited into the Hospital
Building Fund, to recover currently uncompensated staff time
costs for copy services. This workload is currently funded out
of fees paid by hospitals into the Hospital Building Fund.
COMMENTS : According to the author, OSHPD's Facilities
Development Division (FDD) receives numerous requests to have
architectural plans in their office copied. Plans can be
thousands of pages and weigh hundreds of pounds. To stay within
budget and ensure FDD carries out its primary mission, it is
essential that costs are recovered for resources used. This
SB 563
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includes, but is not limited to, staff and computer time and
programming, copying, and shipping and handling costs.
Therefore, this bill allows OSHPD to recover all its costs from
such requests.
According to OSHPD, between 2008 and 2013, requests to copy
hospital design plans at OSHPD increased by 400%. OSHPD
averages almost 170 hours and five full-time equivalent staff
per week to meet Public Record Act (PRA) requests to access
plans. As of late April 2013, OSHPD had already received over
130 PRA requests related to health facility construction plans,
as compared to a total of 110 during all of 2012.
According to OSHPD's guidelines for access to public records
under the PRA, in general, all public records are open to
inspection by any person on any state business day, unless the
records are exempt from disclosure pursuant to specific
provisions of law. If there is any question as to whether the
requested records are "public records," or whether the records
are otherwise exempt from disclosure, OSHPD's legal staff will
review the records and make a determination. With regard to
requests for copies of records, OSHPD will charge the following
duplicating costs:
1)The fee for photocopying 8-1/2" x 11" or 8-1/2" x 14"
documents is $0.10 per page. The costs for copying oversized
or odd-sized documents will be determined on a case by case
basis, and will be based on the actual cost to OSHPD. In some
instances, OSHPD will require the requestor to arrange and pay
for a copy service to make copies at a time mutually agreeable
to OSHPD and the requestor;
2)The fee for computer data will be calculated on a case by case
basis. It will be based on staff and processing time, as well
as a per page charge for printouts;
3)Any applicable statutory fees will be assessed; and,
4)If the records are mailed to the requestor, the requester must
pay the cost of postage.
According to OSHPD, case law, North County Parents Organization
for Children with Special Needs v. Department of Education,
(1994) 23 Cal.App. 4th, 144, has limited direct costs of
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duplication regarding staff time to only be the time spent
actively making the copies. Staff time spent locating,
reviewing, and providing access to the documents is not
considered to be a direct cost of duplication.
The California Hospital Association is the sponsor of this bill
and writes in support that FDD is responsible for reviewing and
approving hospital plans in a timely fashion. Duties and
functions that take time and resources away from these
responsibilities will slow plan review and, subsequently,
construction. This bill will allow OSHPD to charge the
appropriate fee to replicate hospital plans as requested. In
addition, this bill will allow FDD to charge the appropriate
expense incurred, without needing to pass these costs on to
hospitals and health facilities.
The Association of California Healthcare Districts (ACHD) also
supports the bill stating, many district hospitals are in the
midst of meeting the current Alfred E. Alquist Hospital
Facilities Seismic Safety Act of 1983 requirements. ACHD
believes this bill will protect construction plans of hospitals
when those plans are submitted to OSHPD.
Analysis Prepared by : Lara Flynn / HEALTH / (916) 319-2097
FN: 0001837