SB 609, as amended, Wolk. Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman.
Existing law, as part of the Mello-Granlund Older Californians Act, establishes the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman, under the direction of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman, in the California Department of Aging. Existing law provides for the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program under which funds are allocated 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. Existing law requires the office to solicit and receive funds, gifts, and contributions to support the operations andbegin delete programend deletebegin insert programsend insert of the office.
This bill would require the office to deposit those funds into the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program Improvement Act Fund, and would continuously appropriate those funds for the purpose of supporting the operations and programs of the office.
Under existing law, anyone who willfully interferes with a lawful action of the office is subject to a civil penalty of no more than $1,000, to be assessed by the Director of Aging, who is required to initiate the action, upon request of the office, to collect the penalties.
This bill would increase the maximum civil penalty amount tobegin delete $2,000end deletebegin insert $2,500end insert for each incident, and would instead require the director to initiate an action if the penalty is not paid
within 30 days of the assessment. This bill would create the Access to Facilities Account, and require those penalties to be deposited into the account to, upon appropriation by the Legislature,begin delete support the operations and programs ofend deletebegin insert
be available toend insert the officebegin insert, and require no less than 75% of that amount to be dedicated to fund services at local ombudsmanend insertbegin insert programsend insert.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 9714 of the Welfare and Institutions Code
2 is amended to read:
The office shall solicit and receive funds, gifts, and
4contributions to support the operations and programs of the office.
5The office shall not solicit or receive any funds, gifts, or
6contributions if the solicitation or receipt would jeopardize the
7independence and objectivity of the office. Notwithstanding Section
813340 of the Government Code, the office shall deposit funds
9received pursuant to this section into the Long-Term Care
10Ombudsman Program Improvement Act Fund that is hereby
11continued in existence and continuously appropriated, without
12regard to fiscal year, for the purpose of supporting the operations
13and programs of the office.
Section 9714.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code
15 is amended to read:
(a) The office may form a foundation eligible to
17receive tax-deductible contributions to support the operations and
18programs of the office and the operations of the foundation. The
19foundation shall not solicit or receive any funds, gifts, or
20contributions if the solicitation or receipt would jeopardize the
21independence and objectivity of the office or foundation.
22(b) The foundation formed pursuant to this section shall be under
23the direction and management of a five-member board of directors.
24One member shall be appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly,
25one member shall be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules,
P3 1and three members shall be appointed by the Governor. The
2members
of the board shall each be experienced in the
3management, promotion, and funding of nonprofit charitable
4organizations.
5(c) The board shall select from among its members a chair, a
6vice chair, and any other officers as it deems necessary.
7(d) The members of the board shall serve without compensation,
8but shall be reimbursed for all necessary expenses actually incurred
9in the performance of their duties as directors.
10(e) Three members of the board shall constitute a quorum for
11the purpose of conducting the board’s business.
12(f) By March 1 of each year, the board shall determine the
13amount of funds to be allocated from the foundation to the office
14for the
support of the operations and programs of the office and
15the operations of the foundation. Foundation funds may only be
16expended for the support of the operations and programs of the
17office and the operations of the foundation.
18(g) The members of the board shall be free from conflicts of
19interest and shall be subject to the same conflict of interest
20provisions that apply to the State Ombudsman under Section
213058g(f)(3) of Title 42 of the United States Code.
Section 9732 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
23amended to read:
(a) Any person who willfully interferes with any lawful
25action of the office shall be subject to a civil penalty of no more
26than two thousandbegin insert five hundredend insert dollarsbegin delete ($2,000)end deletebegin insert ($2,500)end insert for each
27incident. The civil penalty shall be assessed by the director. If the
28penalty is not paid within 30 days of the assessment, the director
29shall initiate an action to collect the penalties in the jurisdiction in
30which the facility is located.
31(b) All civil penalties collected by the department pursuant to
32this section shall be deposited into the Access to Facilities Account,
33which is hereby created within the Special Deposit Fund under
34Section 16370 of the Government Code. Funds in this account
35shall be available, upon appropriation, tobegin delete support the operations the officebegin insert, and no less than 75 percent of the
36and programs ofend delete
37penalties collected shall be dedicated to fund services at local
38ombudsman programsend insert.
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