BILL ANALYSIS
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 523
Author: Huffman (D), et al
Amended: 7/15/09 in Senate
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE : 9-0, 7/8/09
AYES: Strickland, Aanestad, Cedillo, Cox, DeSaulnier,
Leno, Maldonado, Negrete McLeod, Pavley
NO VOTE RECORDED: Alquist, Wolk
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 5/11/09 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Hospitals: seismic safety
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill allows the Office of Statewide Health
Planning and Development to grant a two-year extension of
the 2013 seismic deadline for a hospital building that is
owned by a health care district, but is operated by a third
party under a lease that extends at least through December
31, 2009, based on a declaration that the district has
lacked, and continued to lack, unrestricted access to the
hospital building for seismic planning purposes during the
time of the lease.
ANALYSIS : Existing law, the Alfred E. Alquist Hospital
Facilities Seismic Safety Act of 1983, establishes, under
CONTINUED
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the jurisdiction of the Office of Statewide Health Planning
and Development (OSHPD), a program of seismic safety
building standards for certain hospitals constructed on and
after March 7, 1973. Existing law authorizes the office to
assess an application fee for the review of facilities
design and construction, and requires that full and
complete plans be submitted to the office for review and
approval.
Existing law requires that, after January 1, 2008, any
general acute care hospital building that is determined to
be a potential risk of collapse or pose significant loss of
life be used only for nonacute care hospital purposes,
except that the office may grant a five-year extension
under prescribed circumstances. Existing law also allows
the office to grant an additional two-year extension to the
January 2008 deadline in specified circumstances.
This bill also allows the office to grant the additional
two-year extension for a hospital building that, among
other requirements, is owned by a health care district that
has, as owner, received the extension of the January 1,
2008, deadline, but where the hospital is operated by an
unaffiliated third-party lessee pursuant to a facility
lease that extends at least through December 31, 2009, if
the health care district requests the additional extension
by March 1, 2010. This bill requires the district to file
a declaration stating specified information as a condition
for receiving the extension. This bill prohibits the
office from granting the extension if an unaffiliated
third-party lessee will operate the hospital beyond
December 31, 2010, and makes the extension applicable only
while the hospital is operated by the district or an entity
under the control of the district.
Background
In response to the 6.7 magnitude Northridge earthquake in
January 1994, the Legislature passed, and then-Governor
Wilson signed into law, SB 1953 (Alquist), Chapter 740,
Statutes of 1994, establishing seismic standards for
hospital buildings as well as deadlines for compliance with
those standards. By January 1, 2008, buildings posing a
significant risk of collapse and a danger to the public
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must be rebuilt or retrofitted to be capable of
withstanding an earthquake, or be removed from acute care
service. By January 1, 2030, hospital buildings must be
capable of remaining intact after an earthquake, and must
also be capable of continued operation and provision of
acute care medical services, or else be changed to
non-acute care use.
OSHPD has classified 948 (35 percent) of California's
hospital buildings as Structural Performance Category
(SPC)-1 buildings, meaning that they are at a risk for
collapse in an earthquake. These buildings must be
retrofitted, replaced, or removed from acute care services
by January 1, 2008 (or 2013, if they receive extensions).
Another 231 buildings (roughly nine percent) are
categorized as SPC-2 buildings, meaning that they are not
at risk of collapse, but may not be reparable or functional
following a strong quake. These buildings must be brought
into compliance with the requirements of SB 1953 by 2020,
or be removed from acute care service. Finally, over 1,536
buildings (56 percent) are categorized as SPC-3, SPC-4, and
SPC-5 buildings, meaning that they are considered capable
of providing services following a strong quake and may be
used without restriction beyond 2030.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/19/09)
Association of California Healthcare Districts
Marin County Board of Supervisors
Marin Healthcare District Board of Directors
Teamsters Local 856
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the Marin Healthcare
District (MHD) Board of Directors and the Marin County
Board of Supervisors, the district is in a unique
situation, and faces the challenge of meeting a 2013
seismic deadline in a shortened timeframe, once the
hospital is transferred back to MHD in 2010.
The Association of California Healthcare Districts states
that healthcare facilities in California have provided
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quality health care throughout California and states that
the best interests of patients would be served by providing
MHD with the extension provided by this bill.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield,
Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter,
Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon,
DeVore, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong,
Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick,
Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill,
Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Krekorian, Lieu,
Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning,
Nava, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, John A. Perez, V. Manuel
Perez, Portantino, Price, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva,
Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson,
Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines, Bass
NO VOTE RECORDED: Duvall, Yamada
RJG/CTW:cm 8/19/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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