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 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |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 | | | |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------| | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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 Page 2 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 SB 563 Page 3 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