BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 651| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- UNFINISHED BUSINSES Bill No: SB 651 Author: Pavley (D) and Leno (D) Amended: 9/6/13 Vote: 21 SENATE HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE : 6-0, 4/9/13 AYES: Yee, Berryhill, Emmerson, Evans, Liu, Wright SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE : 9-0, 5/1/13 AYES: Hernandez, Anderson, Beall, De León, DeSaulnier, Monning, Nielsen, Pavley, Wolk SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8 SENATE FLOOR : 37-0, 5/16/13 (Consent) AYES: Anderson, Beall, Berryhill, Block, Calderon, Cannella, Corbett, Correa, De León, DeSaulnier, Emmerson, Evans, Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani, Hancock, Hernandez, Hill, Hueso, Huff, Jackson, Knight, Lara, Leno, Lieu, Liu, Monning, Nielsen, Padilla, Pavley, Roth, Steinberg, Walters, Wolk, Wright, Wyland, Yee NO VOTE RECORDED: Price, Vacancy, Vacancy ASSEMBLY FLOOR : Not available SUBJECT : Developmental centers and state hospitals SOURCE : Disability Rights California DIGEST : This bill establishes requirements for sexual assault CONTINUED SB 651 Page 2 examinations of residents in state hospitals and developmental centers, and establishes new penalties for failure of developmental centers to report specified incidents. Assembly Amendments (1) increase the timeframe a developmental center has to report serious incidents involving major injury or death of a resident to immediately, but no later than within two hours of observing, obtaining knowledge of, or suspecting abuse; (2) add provisions that specify if an incident occurs in the general acute care hospital or acute psychiatric hospital portion of the developmental center, a failure to immediately report the incident is subject to a civil penalty of $100 for each day the incident is not reported; and (3) add double-jointing language to avoid chaptering conflicts with AB 602 (Yamada) of this legislative session. ANALYSIS : Existing law: 1. Establishes the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) and identifies the state's developmental centers as being within its jurisdiction. 2. Establishes the Department of State Hospitals (DSH) and identifies the state hospitals for the mentally disordered as being within its jurisdiction. 3. Establishes an investigative force within each state developmental center and state hospital for the purpose of enforcing the rules and regulations of the facility, preserving peace and order on the premises thereof, and protecting and preserving the property of the state. 4. Requires a state developmental center to immediately report specified incidents involving a resident to the local law enforcement agency having jurisdiction over the city or county where the developmental center is located. 5. Establishes that the Department of Public Health (DPH), which licenses and regulates health facilities, including long-term care facilities, as specified. 6. Establishes a series of fines and penalties to be levied CONTINUED SB 651 Page 3 against skilled nursing facilities and intermediate care facilities for each citation, as specified. 7. Requires the California Emergency Management Agency, with the assistance of an advisory committee, to establish a protocol for the examination and treatment of victims of sexual assault and attempted sexual assault and the collection and preservation of evidence therefrom. 8. Requires that each county designate at least one general acute care hospital to perform examinations on victims of sexual assault. 9. Requires that each county with a population of more than 100,000 arrange for professional personnel trained in the examination of victims of sexual assault to be present or on call either in the county hospital which provides emergency medical services or in any general acute care hospital which has contracted with the county to provide emergency medical services. This bill: 1. Requires a developmental center to report a serious incident involving major injury or death of a resident immediately, but no later than within two hours of suspecting, observing or obtaining knowledge of the incident. 2. Authorizes DPH to assess a civil penalty against the licensee of a general acute care hospital or an acute psychiatric hospital that is part of a developmental center of up to $100 for each day the licensee fails to report an incident involving major injury or death of a resident, as specified, to law enforcement. 3. Deems a developmental center's failure to report certain incidents involving major injury or death of a resident in a distinct part long-term health care facility, as defined, a class B violation, as specified. 4. Requires designated investigators of state hospitals to request a sexual assault forensic medical examination at an appropriate facility off the grounds of the state hospital for a resident who is a victim or reasonably suspected to be CONTINUED SB 651 Page 4 a victim of sexual assault, as specified, and requires the person performing the examination to obtain consent and notify the local law enforcement agency that has jurisdiction over the state hospital. 5. Authorizes the sexual assault forensic medical examination to be performed at a state hospital by an independent sexual assault forensic examiner if the state hospital is deemed safer for the resident being examined than other facilities and the state hospital is equipped with more adequate forensic examination and evidence collection capacity than the otherwise designated community examination facility, as specified. 6. Requires designated investigators of developmental centers to request a sexual assault forensic medical examination at an appropriate facility off the grounds of the developmental center for a resident who is a victim or reasonably suspected to be a victim of sexual assault, as specified, and requires the person performing the examination to obtain consent and notify the local law enforcement agency that has jurisdiction over the developmental center. 7. Authorizes the sexual assault forensic medical examination to be performed at a developmental center by an independent sexual assault forensic examiner if the developmental center is deemed safer for the resident being examined than other facilities and the developmental center is equipped with more adequate forensic examination and evidence collection capacity than the otherwise designated community examination facility, as specified. 8. Double-joints with AB 602 (Yamada) of the current legislative session to avoid chaptering conflicts. Background State developmental centers . DDS currently operates four state developmental centers which care for approximately 1,800 people with developmental disabilities. Housing within the units is based on specific resident needs. Admission to state developmental centers requires a court order and is based on a formal determination that the developmental center is the most appropriate residential setting available to ensure the CONTINUED SB 651 Page 5 individual's health and safety. A developmental disability is defined as a severe and chronic disability that is attributable to a mental or physical impairment that begins before age 18. These disabilities include intellectual disabilities, cerebral palsy, autism, epilepsy and other similar conditions. State hospitals . DSH oversees the operation of five state hospitals that provide inpatient psychiatric care to more than 5,000 individuals committed to the hospitals civilly or in connection with criminal proceedings. Also under DSH and subject to the requirements of this bill, are three Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation medical facilities that have mental health units. Sexual assault forensic exams . For the general population, California law requires that a sexual assault victim be examined by a forensic medical examiner that is required to document findings, including the collection of evidence, by using a series of standard state forensic medical report forms. Examiners also are trained to adhere to specific protocols. State law also requires each county to designate at least one general acute hospital to perform examinations for sexual assault victims. Counties with populations of 100,000 residents or more are required to have a medical professional trained in sexual assault examinations present or on call at all times in the designated county emergency medical services hospital. Counties with fewer than 100,000 residents may contract or partner with a Sexual Assault Forensic Exam team in a nearby county. Prior Legislation SB 1522 (Leno, Chapter 578, Statutes of 2012) requires state developmental centers to immediately report serious incidents of abuse or criminal conduct to law enforcement and requires the state developmental center to submit a written report of the incident to the local law enforcement agency within two working days of any telephone report to that agency. SB 1051 (Liu, Chapter 660, Statutes of 2012) requires DSH and state developmental centers to report suspected abuse to the CONTINUED SB 651 Page 6 designated protection and advocacy agency. AB 430 (Cardenas, Chapter 171, Statutes of 2001) mandates that each developmental center immediately report all resident deaths and serious injuries of unknown origin to the appropriate law enforcement agency that may, at its discretion, conduct an independent investigation. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No SUPPORT : (Verified 9/10/13) Disability Rights California (source) Area 4 Board/Office of the State Council on Developmental Disabilities Association of Regional Center Agencies California Alliance for Retired Americans California Association of Psychiatric Technicians California Coalition Against Sexual Assault California District Attorneys Association California Statewide Law Enforcement Association East Bay Developmental Disabilities Legislative Coalition National Association of Social Workers North Los Angeles Regional Center The Alliance The ARC/United Cerebral Palsy ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office, this bill is designed to address the lack of forensic evidence collection for sexual assault victims and suspected sexual assault victims in state developmental centers and state hospitals. Disability Rights California (DRC) writes that, people with developmental and psychiatric disabilities are at much greater risk for sexual assault than their non-disabled peers, and are often repeatedly victimized. DRC maintains that this bill will increase the collection of forensic evidence and victim statements to support criminal prosecution of sexual assaults in facilities that serve people with disabilities. The California Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CALCASA) writes CONTINUED SB 651 Page 7 that, unlike sexual assault victims in the community, few, if any, sexual assault victims who reside in state developmental centers and state hospitals are sent for outside medical forensic examinations. Instead, CALCASA maintains, they are examined by doctors and nurses on duty at state developmental centers and state hospitals. CALCASA claims these clinicians lack the specialized training and equipment to conduct proper examinations and collect evidence. JL:k 9/10/13 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END **** CONTINUED