BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 601 (Eggman) - Residential care facilities for the elderly:
licensing and regulation
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|Version: June 29, 2015 |Policy Vote: HUMAN S. 5 - 0 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: No |
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|Hearing Date: July 13, 2015 |Consultant: Jolie Onodera |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: AB 601 would expand the scope of information that
prospective residential care facility for the elderly (RCFE)
licensees must provide to the Department of Social Services
(DSS). Additionally, this bill would require the DSS to
cross-check RCFE licensee applicant information with the
Department of Public Health (DPH) and post specified information
on the DSS website to the extent the automated system can
electronically accommodate additional information.
Fiscal
Impact:
Increase in DSS workload, potentially in excess of $150,000
(General Fund), to cross-check information electronically
against DPH information and to compile and analyze the
additional information provided by all RCFE licensees. Ongoing
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workload to post and update the RCFE information on the DSS
website is estimated to be minor and absorbable.
Potential future cost pressure (General Fund) to update the
automation system to accommodate all of the specified RCFE
profile information.
Likely minor ongoing enforcement costs (General Fund), offset
to a degree by penalty revenue, to the extent DSS assesses
civil penalties for material violations of the provisions of
this measure.
Background: The Community Care Licensing Division (CCLD) of the DSS
administers the licensure and oversight of over 7,500 assisted
living, board and care, and continuing care retirement homes
that are licensed as RCFEs in California. These residences are
designed to provide home-like environment housing options to
elderly residents who need assistance with activities of daily
living but otherwise do not require continuous, 24-hour
assistance or nursing care. The RCFE licensure category includes
facilities with as few as six beds to facilities with hundreds
of residents whose needs may vary widely.
In response to numerous health and safety issues discovered at
facilities licensed by the CCLD, the 2014 and 2015 Budget Acts
include funding for a comprehensive plan to reform the CCLD
program. The 2014 Budget Act included an increase of $7.5
million ($5.8 million General Fund) and 71.5 positions to
improve the timeliness of investigations, ensure the CCLD
inspects all facilities at least once every five years, increase
staff training, and establish clear fiscal, program, and
corporate accountability. The 2014 Budget also increased
licensing and application fees by 10 percent. The recently
enacted 2015 Budget Act additionally includes $3 million General
Fund and 28.5 positions to address a backlog of complaint cases
and expand training and technical assistance. Beginning in
January 2017, DSS will begin increasing inspection frequency to
every three years for all facilities, every two years by 2018
for all facility types except child care, and annually by 2019
for adult day care and RCFEs.
This bill seeks to provide consumers with greater transparency
related to RCFEs to enable a more informed choice when selecting
a facility. This bill also seeks to improve communication
AB 601 (Eggman) Page 2 of
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between the DSS and DPH with respect to information about the
management and operation of the facilities that each department
licenses.
Proposed Law:
This bill would require prospective RCFE licensees to provide
the following information to DSS:
If the applicant is a firm, association, organization,
partnership, business trust, corporation, or company, like
evidence must be submitted as to the individuals or entities
holding a beneficial ownership interest of 10 percent or more,
and the person who has operational control of the RCFE for
which the application for issuance of license or special
permit is made. An applicant or licensee is not required to
disclose the names of investors in a publicly traded company
or investment fund if those investors are silent investors who
do not have influence or control over operations of the
company, fund, or facility.
If applicable, the following information:
o Whether it is a for-profit or not-for-profit
provider.
o The name, address, license number, and
licensing agency name of other health, residential, or
community care facilities owned, managed, or operated
by the same applicant or by any parent organization of
the applicant.
o The name and business address of any person or
entity that controls, as defined, the applicant.
o If part of a chain, as defined, a diagram
indicating the relationship between the applicant and
the persons or entities that are part of the chain,
including those that are controlled by the same
parties, and in a separate list, the name, address,
and license number, if applicable, for each person or
entity in the diagram.
o The name and address of any persons,
organizations, or entities that own the real property
on which the facility seeking licensure and the
licensed facilities are located.
o The name and address of any management company
serving the facility and the same information required
of applicants for the management company.
The name of the person with operational control of the
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applicant, such as the chief executive officer, general
partner, owner or like party, and state that person's prior or
present service as an administrator, chief executive officer,
general partner, director like role of, or as a person who has
held or holds a beneficial ownership interest of 10 percent or
more in any RCFE, outpatient health clinic, health facility
(including a hospital, skilled nursing facility, or
intermediate care facility), or a similarly licensed community
care facility in California or any other state within the past
10 years.
Any revocation, suspension, probation, exclusion order, or
other similar administrative disciplinary action that was
filed and sustained in California or any other state, or in
the process of being adjudicated, against a facility
associated with a person so identified or by any authority
responsible for the licensing of health, residential, or
community care facilities within the past 10 years.
o Copies of final findings, orders, or both,
issued by any health, residential, or community care
licensing agency or any court relevant to the actions
described.
o Any petition for bankruptcy relief filed
within five years of the date of application involving
operation or closure of a health, residential, or
community care facility licensed in California or any
other state, the court, date, and case number of the
filing, and whether a discharge was granted. If a
discharge was not granted, the applicant shall provide
copies of any court findings supporting denial of
discharge.
o Evidence of the right of possession of the
facility prior to the time the license is granted,
which may be satisfied by the submission of a copy of
the entire lease agreement or deed.
This bill requires the DSS to cross-check all applicant
information disclosed pertaining to operational control of other
facilities within the past 10 years, if electronically
available, with the DPH to determine if the applicant has a
prior history of operating, holding a position in, or having
ownership in, any entity specified. Additionally, this bill:
Requires the information to be provided to the DSS upon
initial application for licensure, and any change in the
information is to be provided to the DSS within 30 calendar
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days of that change unless a shorter timeframe is required
by the DSS. A licensee of multiple facilities may provide a
single notice of changes to the DSS on behalf of all
licensed facilities within the chain. Information
pertaining to facilities operated in other states may be
updated on an annual basis, except as specified.
In addition to the remedies provided under existing
law, authorizes DSS, subsequent to licensure, to assess a
civil penalty of $1,000 for a material violation of this
section.
Provides that to the extent that DSS's computer system
can "electronically accommodate" additional RCFE profile
information, requires DSS to post on its website the
current name, business address, and telephone number of
the licensee, the name of the RCFE owner, if not the same
as the licensee, the name of any parent organization, the
licensed capacity of the facility, including the capacity
for nonambulatory residents, whether the facility is
permitted to accept and retain residents receiving
hospice care services, whether the facility has a special
care unit or program for people with Alzheimer's disease
and other dementias and has a delayed egress or secured
perimeter system in place, or both, and the name,
address, license number, and licensing agency name of
other health, residential, or community care facilities
owned, managed, or operated by the same applicant or by
any parent organization of the applicant.
Prior
Legislation: AB 1571 (Eggman) 2014 would have expanded the
scope of information that prospective RCFE licensee applicants
must provide as a condition of licensure. This bill also
required the DSS to develop an RCFE ratings system and
cross-check all RCFE licensee applicant information against DPH
data. This bill was held on the Suspense File of this Committee.
SB 895 (Corbett) Chapter 704/2014 requires RCFEs to correct
licensing violations within 10 days of notification, except as
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specified. This bill additionally requires DSS to make facility
inspection reports available on its internet website by January
1, 2020.
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