BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    AB 2231


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          Date of Hearing:  May 4, 2016


                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS


                               Lorena Gonzalez, Chair


          AB  
          2231 (Calderon) - As Amended April 6, 2016


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          Urgency:  No  State Mandated Local Program:  NoReimbursable:  No


          SUMMARY:


          This bill increases the civil penalties for specified  
          violations, and clarifies definitions and adopts penalties for  
          repeat violations, in licensed community care facilities  
          including, but not limited to, Residential Care Facilities for  








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          Persons With Chronic Life-Threatening Illness (RCFCIs),  
          Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly (RCFEs), Day Care  
          Centers, and Family Day Care Homes. This bill also provides for  
          a penalty refund process if a licensee prevails in an appeal.


          FISCAL EFFECT:


          1)Unknown, but potentially significant cost pressure, likely in  
            the low hundreds of thousands of dollars (GF), to Department  
            of Social Services (DSS) address the anticipated increase in  
            appeals generated by the new penalty structure.


          2)Minor and absorbable costs to DSS for training and updating  
            regulations.


          COMMENTS:


          1)Purpose. According to the author's office, "Other than those  
            penalties increased in AB 2236, civil penalties for  
            DSS-licensed facilities have not been increased for almost 30  
            years.  This includes penalties for violations like the  
            presence of a person specifically excluded from the facility  
            or the absence of supervision of individuals in care.  The  
            current maximum penalty amount of $150 if DSS discovers a  
            serious violation is a relic from 3 decades ago.  This bill  
            provides the long overdue adjustment by increasing civil  
            penalties for the violations which were not addressed in AB  
            2236 (Maienschein) Chapter 813, Statutes of 2014. It also  
            corrects drafting errors and omissions from AB 2236.  This  
            bill will once again make civil penalties a relevant tool to  
            achieve compliance and will help DSS protect the health and  
            safety of those in care."










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          2)Current civil penalty structure. The civil penalty structure  
            for the state's community care facilities remained virtually  
            unchanged for 30 years until the passage of AB 2236  
            (Maienschein) Chapter 813, Statutes of 2014. That bill created  
            a new framework for civil penalties applicable to violations  
            determined by DSS to have resulted in death or serious bodily  
            injury, or determined by DSS to constitute physical abuse for  
            all facilities licensed by DSS.



            This bill addresses the civil penalty structure for all  
            remaining violations not covered in AB 2236, the 2014  
            Maienschein legislation.



          3)Appeals process.  Following the adoption of AB 2236, a  
            subsequent bill, AB 1387 (Chu) Chapter 486, Statutes of 2015,  
            streamlined the appeals process for community care facility  
            civil penalty and violation appeals, and enhanced the  
            complaint process for RCFEs.  Among other provisions, it  
            established a separate two-step process for lesser violations.  
             The bill required that a licensee submit a request for a  
            formal review within 15 days of receipt of the notice of the  
            civil penalty assessment of decision, and required that the  
            licensee provide all available supporting documentation at the  
            time a request for a formal review of a civil penalty is  
            submitted.  

            This bill provides penalty refund process, should a licensee  
            prevail in the appeals process.

          4)Prior Legislation.
          


             a)   AB 1387 (Chu), Chapter 486, Statutes of 2015,  








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               established in statute an appeals process for civil  
               penalties.



             b)   AB 1467 (Bloom), 2015, would have introduced a system of  
               civil penalties tiered based on facility capacity and  
               contained other provisions substantially similar to this  
               bill. It died in the Assembly Human Services Committee.



             c)   AB 2236 (Maienschein and Stone), Chapter 813, Statutes  
               of 2014, increased monetary civil penalties assessed for  
               violations which resulted in the death, serious bodily  
               injury, or physical abuse of a person receiving care in  
               various DSS-licensed facilities.
             d)   AB 978 (Benoit), Chapter 291, Statutes of 2008, required  
               DSS to assess immediate civil penalties of $150 per day per  
               violation for serious violations of health and safety  
               statutes or regulations.   


          





          Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081
















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