BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 651|
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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 : 78-0, 9/10/13 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Developmental centers and state hospitals
SOURCE : Disability Rights California
DIGEST : This bill establishes requirements for sexual assault
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 9/10/13
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,
Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier,
Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gorell,
Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Holden,
Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal,
Maienschein, Mansoor, Medina, Melendez, Mitchell, Morrell,
Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson,
Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas,
Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski,
Wilk, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Vacancy, Vacancy
JL:kd 9/11/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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