BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 609| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: SB 609 Author: Wolk (D) Amended: 4/11/13 Vote: 21 SENATE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE : 6-0, 4/9/13 AYES: Yee, Berryhill, Emmerson, Evans, Liu, Wright SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 6-0, 4/22/13 AYES: De León, Walters, Gaines, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg NO VOTE RECORDED: Hill SUBJECT : Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman SOURCE : Author DIGEST : This bill creates the Long-Term Ombudsman Program Improvement Act Account, and requires the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman (Office) to deposit specified funds into the account. Requires those funds to be used for the purpose of supporting the operations and programs of the Office. ANALYSIS : Existing Federal Law: 1. Establishes, within the Older Americans Act, the Office of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program and requires states to establish and operate an Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program. CONTINUED SB 609 Page 2 2. Requires states to ensure that representatives of the Office shall have access to long-term care facilities and residents, appropriate access to review the medical and social records of a resident, as specified, and access to specified records of patients and the facility. 3. Requires states to prohibit willful interference with the functions of the Office, to prohibit retaliation and reprisals by a long-term care facility, and to provide for appropriate sanctions with respect to the interference, retaliation, and reprisals. Existing State Law: 1. Establishes, within the Department of Aging (CDA), the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman to protect and advocate for the rights and health and safety for long-term care facility residents. 2. Requires the Ombudsman, either personally or through representatives, to identify, investigate, and resolve complaints that may adversely affect the health, safety, welfare, or rights of residents of long term care facilities. 3. Requires the Office to solicit and receive funds, gifts, and contributions to support the operations and programs of the Office. Permits the Office to form a foundation eligible to receive tax-deductive contributions for this purpose. 4. Provides that any person who willfully interferes with any lawful action of the Office shall be subject to a civil penalty of no more than $1,000 to be assessed by the Director of the Agency on Aging upon the request of the Office. 5. Provides that funds designated as continuously appropriated without regard to fiscal years may not be encumbered by the Legislature, unless the Legislature by statute specifies that the funds shall be encumbered for appropriation. 6. Establishes the Special Deposit Fund as a trust fund in the State Treasury to provide a depository for money received in trust for specific purposes by a department for which no other fund has been created to receive those funds. Permits CONTINUED SB 609 Page 3 a department to establish accounts through a request of the Department of Finance (DOF) and, upon DOF approval, the State Controller's Office. This bill: 1. Establishes in statute the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program Improvement Act Account (Account), and upon appropriation, requires those funds to be used for the purpose of supporting the operations and programs of the Office. 2. Requires the Ombudsman to deposit solicited funds, gifts and contributions into the Account. 3. Increases civil penalties for willful interference with any lawful action of the Office to $2,500 and provides that penalties shall be assessed per incident. 4. Provides that, if the penalty is not paid within 30 days of the assessment, the director of the CDA shall initiate an action to collect the penalties in the local jurisdiction. 5. Establishes the Access to Facilities Account, created within the Special Deposit Fund and provides that civil penalties collected by the CDA shall be deposited into this account. 6. Provides that funds in the Access to Facilities Account shall be available, upon appropriation, to the Office and no less than 75% of the penalties collected shall be dedicated to fund the direct travel costs associated with local Ombudsmen visits or training of local Ombudsmen throughout the state. Background Office of the State Ombudsman . The state's Long-Term Care Ombudsman program is administered through the CDA and 35 local programs contracted through the network of local area agencies on aging. The program utilizes approximately 950 volunteers and 155 paid full-time and part-time staff to serve as resident/patient advocates of residents in over 9,000 long-term care facilities. Volunteers initially receive a minimum of 36 hours of training to carry-out their duties. According to the CDA Web site, the primary responsibility of the program is to investigate and endeavor to resolve complaints made by, or on behalf of, individual residents in long-term care facilities. CONTINUED SB 609 Page 4 The goal of the program is to advocate for the rights of all residents of long-term care facilities. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No According to the Senate Appropriations Committee: Minor projected annual revenue increases, based on recent administrative penalties issues (General Fund). In 2012, the CDA issued two such civil penalties. Minor ongoing expenditures for state Long-Term Care Ombudsman activities and for local ombudsman activities (General Fund). SUPPORT : (Verified 4/23/13) Alliance on Aging Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program for Monterrey County California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform California Catholic Conference, Inc. California Commission on Aging California Long Term-Care Ombudsman Association California Senior Legislature Consumer Federation of California Council on Aging-Orange County Humboldt-Del Norte Long Term Care Ombudsman Program Long Term Care Services of Ventura County Older Women's League of California Ombudsman Services of Northern California-Shasta Region Ombudsman Services of San Mateo County, Inc. Ventura County Board of Supervisor ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office, the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman reports recent incidences where local offices have approached long term care facilities and were refused entry into the facility despite state law requiring facilities to grant unhindered access. In response, the Ombudsman requested the CDA to initiate actions against those facilities. One facility paid the penalty of $1,000 but another CONTINUED SB 609 Page 5 facility has ignored the fine forcing the Ombudsman to initiate a claim in small claims court. Because the Ombudsman did not have an account set up to receive the funds, nor authority to expend the funds, the fines reverted to the General Fund. The author's office further states that the current penalty of $1,000 has been in place for 30 years and is an insufficient deterrent against violations. By increasing the penalty to $2,500 and establishing it for each incident of willful interference, the Ombudsman will have a stronger tool to ensure local Ombudsmen legal access to residents and facilities. The author's office states that any penalties collected would fund more outreach to facilities by local Ombudsmen and training for volunteers to perform site visits. Several local ombudsman programs state that, for years, some facilities have refused to allow Ombudsman representatives to enter facilities without an escort, in violation of state and federal law. JL:d 4/24/13 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END **** CONTINUED