BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 614 Page 1 Date of Hearing: April 29, 2015 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Jimmy Gomez, Chair AB 614 (Brown) - As Amended April 16, 2015 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy |Health |Vote:|16 - 0 | |Committee: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No SUMMARY: This bill authorizes the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) to use a streamlined administrative process to update regulatory references to health care standards of practice adopted by a state or national association when outdated AB 614 Page 2 standards are referenced in the California Code of Regulations (CCR). It also requires, if there is public comment in opposition to the proposed update, CDPH to use the normal regulatory process. FISCAL EFFECT: Negligible state fiscal effect. COMMENTS: 1)Purpose. According to the author, this bill will eliminate the need to revise regulations simply to update references to the most recent standards of practice when applicable. The author states that this will result in an efficient and cost-effective method for ensuring that health facilities and CDPH are referencing standards and providing care that is consistent with the most current nationally recognized professional standards, improving the quality of patient care provided in licensed health facilities. The bill is sponsored by CDPH. 2)Background. The Administrative Procedures Act (APA) governs the regulatory process, and the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) enforces its provisions. Pursuant to APA, new regulations, as well as updates to existing regulations, must go through a public comment and review process. Many references in CDPH's regulations governing quality of care in health facilities make reference to guidance developed by professional societies. These references tend to require updating more regularly than the regulations in which they are embedded. AB 614 Page 3 3)Staff Comment. A number of recent bills have addressed the alleged failure of CDPH to promulgate regulations, including bills last session addressing standards for forensic alcohol laboratory tests and tissue banks and, in this session, cytology and pediatric day health and respite care facilities. This bill appears to offer a reasonable way to update some specific regulatory references that relate to standards of practice, but it does not address the larger issue of many other regulations that may be decades out of date, or regulations that were never promulgated. Analysis Prepared by:Lisa Murawski / APPR. / (916) 319-2081