BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                            Senator Kevin de Le�n, Chair


          SB 718 (Yee) - Hospitals: workplace violence prevention plan.
          
          Amended: April 4, 2013          Policy Vote: L&IR 3-1, Health  
          5-2
          As proposed to be amended.
          Urgency: No                     Mandate: Yes
          Hearing Date: May 13, 2013      Consultant: Brendan McCarthy
          
          This bill does not meet the criteria for referral to the  
          Suspense File.
          
          
          Bill Summary: SB 718 would require all hospitals to adopt a  
          workplace violence prevention plan as part of the injury  
          prevention program required of all employers in the state. 

          Fiscal Impact: 
              One-time costs of $85,000 over two years for the adoption  
              of regulations by the Department of Industrial Relations  
              (Occupational Safety and Health Fund).

              Ongoing costs of about $50,000 per year to provide required  
              reports to the Legislature by the Department of Industrial  
              Relations (Occupational Safety and Health Fund).

          Background: Under the California Labor Code, employers are  
          required to implement injury prevention plans, which address  
          issues of worker safety in the workplace. Current law requires  
          employers to report certain occupational injuries or illnesses  
          to the Cal/OSHA division within the Department of Industrial  
          Relations. Workplace safety laws and regulations are enforced by  
          Cal/OSHA.

          Under the California Health and Safety Code, licensed hospitals  
          are required to develop security plans to protect hospital  
          staff, patients, and visitors from injury. Required safety plans  
          must address specified issues. All hospital employees regularly  
          assigned to an emergency department are required to receive  
          annual training on safety procedures. Certain violent acts  
          against hospital personnel must be reported to local law  
          enforcement. These requirements are enforced by the Department  
          of Public Health.








          SB 718 (Yee)
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          Proposed Law: SB 718 would require all hospitals to adopt a  
          workplace violence prevention plan as part of the injury  
          prevention program required of all employers in the state.

          A workplace violence prevention plan would have to address:
              Staffing issues relating to the prevention of violence;
              Facility security systems;
              Public access to facilities;
              The use of trained response teams;
              Training and education for employees;
              A system for responding to violence;
              A system for investigating violent incidents;
              A system for reporting violent incidents to Cal/OSHA.

          The bill would require all medical staff and health care workers  
          who provide direct patient care to receive training at least  
          annually.

          The bill would require hospitals to provide evaluation and  
          treatment to employees who are the victims of violence, at the  
          employee's direction.

          The bill would require a hospital to report to Cal/OSHA  
          regarding violent incidents.

          The bill would require Cal/OSHA to adopt implementing  
          regulations by January 1, 2015. The bill would also require  
          Cal/OSHA to report annually to the Legislature from 2015 to  
          2019.

          Related Legislation: 
              AB 30 (Hayashi, 2011) was similar to this bill. However,  
              that bill would have placed similar requirements in the  
              Health and Safety Code and would have placed additional  
              requirements on correctional facilities. That bill was held  
              in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

              AB 1083 (J. Perez, Statutes of 2009) requires annual safety  
              assessments by hospitals.

          Staff Comments: Many of the requirements in this bill are  
          similar to existing requirements in the Health and Safety Code,  
          which hospitals are already required to comply with.








          SB 718 (Yee)
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          However, this bill requires all medical staff and health care  
          workers who provide direct patient care to receive training at  
          least annually, whereas current law (in the Health and Safety  
          Code) only requires annual training for emergency department  
          staff. This expansion of training requirements is likely to have  
          a significant impact on hospital training requirements.

          The Department of State Hospitals and the Department of  
          Corrections and Rehabilitation operate many licensed hospitals.  
          Staff estimates that if the bill requires an additional hour of  
          staff training for direct care staff, the Department of State  
          Hospitals will likely incur additional training costs in the  
          hundreds of thousands per year.

          The only costs that may be incurred by a local agency relate to  
          crimes and infractions. Such costs are not reimbursable by the  
          state under the California Constitution.

          Proposed author's amendments: would exempt the Department of  
          State Hospitals, the Department of Corrections and  
          Rehabilitation, and the Department of Developmental Services  
          from the bill's requirements.