Amended in Senate April 11, 2013

Amended in Senate April 1, 2013

Senate Bill No. 609

Introduced by Senator Wolk

February 22, 2013

An act to amend Sections 9714, 9714.5, and 9732 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to public social begin delete services, and making an appropriation therefor end delete begin insert services end insert .

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

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 and programs of the office.

This bill would begin delete require the office to deposit those funds into end delete begin insert create end insert the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program Improvement Act begin delete Fund, end delete begin insert Account, and require the office to deposit those funds into the account end insert and begin delete would continuously appropriate end delete begin insert would, upon appropriation, require end insert those funds begin insert to be used end insert 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 to $2,500 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, be available to the office, and require no less than 75% of that amount to be dedicated to fund begin delete services at local ombudsman programs end delete begin insert the direct travel costs associated with local ombudsmen visits throughout the state or training of local ombudsmen throughout the state end insert .

Vote: majority. Appropriation:  begin delete yes end delete begin insert no end insert . Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 9714 of the Welfare and Institutions Code
is amended to read:

9714.  

The office shall solicit and receive funds, gifts, and
contributions to support the operations and programs of the office.
The office shall not solicit or receive any funds, gifts, or
contributions if the solicitation or receipt would jeopardize the
independence and objectivity of the office. begin delete Notwithstanding Section
13340 of the Government Code, the end delete begin insert The end insert office shall deposit funds
received pursuant to this section into the Long-Term Care
Ombudsman Program Improvement Act begin delete Fund end delete begin insert Account end insert that is
hereby begin delete continued in existence and continuously appropriated,
without regard to fiscal year, end delete begin insert created in the Special Deposit Fund
in the State Treasury pursuant to Section 16370 of the Government
Code. Revenues in this account shall, upon appropriation, be used end insert
for the purpose of supporting the operations and programs of the
office.

SEC. 2.  

Section 9714.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code
is amended to read:

9714.5.  

(a) The office may form a foundation eligible to
receive tax-deductible contributions to support the operations and
programs of the office and the operations of the foundation. The
foundation shall not solicit or receive any funds, gifts, or
contributions if the solicitation or receipt would jeopardize the
independence and objectivity of the office or foundation.

(b) The foundation formed pursuant to this section shall be under
the direction and management of a five-member board of directors.
One member shall be appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly,
one member shall be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules,
and three members shall be appointed by the Governor. The
members of the board shall each be experienced in the
management, promotion, and funding of nonprofit charitable
organizations.

(c) The board shall select from among its members a chair, a
vice chair, and any other officers as it deems necessary.

(d) The members of the board shall serve without compensation,
but shall be reimbursed for all necessary expenses actually incurred
in the performance of their duties as directors.

(e) Three members of the board shall constitute a quorum for
the purpose of conducting the board’s business.

(f) By March 1 of each year, the board shall determine the
amount of funds to be allocated from the foundation to the office
for the support of the operations and programs of the office and
the operations of the foundation. Foundation funds may only be
expended for the support of the operations and programs of the
office and the operations of the foundation.

(g) The members of the board shall be free from conflicts of
interest and shall be subject to the same conflict of interest
provisions that apply to the State Ombudsman under Section
3058g(f)(3) of Title 42 of the United States Code.

SEC. 3.  

Section 9732 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:

9732.  

(a) Any person who willfully interferes with any lawful
action of the office shall be subject to a civil penalty of no more
than two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) for each incident.
The civil penalty shall be assessed by the director. If the penalty
is not paid within 30 days of the assessment, the director shall
initiate an action to collect the penalties in the jurisdiction in which
the facility is located.

(b) All civil penalties collected by the department pursuant to
this section shall be deposited into the Access to Facilities Account,
which is hereby created within the Special Deposit Fund under
Section 16370 of the Government Code. Funds in this account
shall be available, upon appropriation, to the office, and no less
than 75 percent of the penalties collected shall be dedicated to fund
begin delete services at local ombudsman programs end delete begin insert the direct travel costs
associated with local ombudsmen visits throughout the state or
training of local ombudsmen throughout the state end insert .