BILL NUMBER: SB 982	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  MARCH 28, 2016

INTRODUCED BY   Senator McGuire

                        FEBRUARY 10, 2016

    An act to amend Section 416.7 of the Health and Safety
Code, relating to conservatorship and guardianship.   An
act to add and repeal Section 4474.12 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code, relating to developmental services. 


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 982, as amended, McGuire.  Developmentally disabled
persons: conservatorships and guardianships.   State
Department of Developmental Services: Sonoma State Hospital. 

   Existing law vests in the State Department of Developmental
Services jurisdiction over state hospitals referred to as
developmental centers for the provision of residential care to
individuals with developmental disabilities, including the Sonoma
State Hospital. Existing law requires the department to comply with
procedural requirements when closing a developmental center. Existing
law required, on or before October 1, 2015, the State Department of
Developmental Services to submit to the Legislature a plan or plans
to close one or more developmental centers.  
   This bill would require, until January 1, 2021, the department to
develop and conduct a 3-year longitudinal study, over the course of
the 2017-18 through 2019-20, inclusive, fiscal years, to assess the
quality of life and outcomes of developmental center residents that
relocate from the Sonoma State Hospital as a result of the closure of
that center. The bill would specify the contents of the study,
including assessments of the residents before they leave the center
and at one-year and two-year intervals after they relocate from the
center. The bill would require the department to submit interim
reports to the Legislature regarding the study at the end of the
first and second years of the study. The bill would require, upon the
completion of the study, the department to submit the study to the
Legislature, as specified.  
   Existing law authorizes the Director of Developmental Services,
upon nomination and acceptance, to be appointed as either guardian or
conservator of the person or estate, or both, of a developmentally
disabled person. Existing law provides that the director may petition
for his appointment to act as conservator or guardian in the
superior court of the county where the main administrative office of
the regional center serving the developmentally disabled person is
located.  
   Existing law requires the alleged developmentally disabled person
to be present at the hearing if he or she is within the state and is
able to attend. Existing law provides that if he or she is unable to
attend the hearing by reason of physical or other inability, that
inability shall be evidenced by the affidavit or certificate of a
duly licensed medical practitioner, as specified. Existing law
requires that the affidavit or certificate be filed no later than 10
days prior to the time of the hearing.  
   This bill would instead require the affidavit or certificate
described above to be filed no later than 5 days prior to the time of
the hearing. The bill would also make technical, nonsubstantive
changes to these provisions. 
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  no
  yes  . State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   SECTION 1.    Section 4474.12 is added to the 
 Welfare and Institutions Code   , to read:  
   4474.12.  (a) The department shall develop and conduct a
three-year longitudinal study to assess the quality of life and
outcomes of developmental center residents that relocate from the
Sonoma State Hospital as a result of the closure of that center. The
study shall be conducted over the course of the 2017-18 through
2019-20, inclusive, fiscal years.
   (b) The study conducted pursuant to this section shall do all of
the following:
   (1) Measure the residents' quality of life, their satisfaction
with services, the degree to which the residents achieve their goals,
such as independence, and other dimensions as determined by the
department.
   (2) Include assessments of the residents before they leave the
center and at one-year and two-year intervals after they relocate
from the center.
   (3) Track the residential locations of the former residents of the
center for purposes of conducting the one-year and two-year
postrelocation reassessments.
   (4) Include a written report that does all of the following:
   (A) Summarizes the findings based on the data collected.
   (B) Provides recommendations regarding how the closure could have
been conducted in a manner that better served the needs of the
residents and their families.
   (C) Specifies any community-based services for former residents
that need to be improved.
   (c) (1) For purposes of conducting the study, the department shall
maintain and update the addresses of, and contact information for,
former residents of the center who relocated as a result of the
closure of the center.
   (2) The department shall ensure, to the extent permitted by law,
that researchers conducting the study have access to data and other
information necessary to conduct the study, including the addresses
of, and contact information for, former residents of the center who
relocated due to the closure of the center.
   (d) The department shall submit interim reports to the Legislature
regarding the study at the end of the first and second years of the
study, in accordance with the requirements of Section 9795 of the
Government Code. Upon the completion of the study, the department
shall submit the study to the Legislature, in accordance with the
requirements of Section 9795 of the Government Code.
   (e) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2021, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2021, deletes or extends
that date.  
       
  SECTION 1.    Section 416.7 of the Health and
Safety Code is amended to read:
   416.7.  If the alleged developmentally disabled person is within
the state and is able to attend, he or she shall be present at the
hearing. If he or she is unable to attend by reason of physical or
other inability, that inability shall be evidenced by the affidavit
or certificate of a duly licensed medical practitioner as provided in
Section 1825 of the Probate Code. The affidavit or certificate shall
be filed no later than five business days prior to the time of the
hearing.